The Guardian
by staywithmeBL
Summary: After facing tragedy, Gabriella Montez is finally in a place to start life over again. With the help of her closest friends, and best friend Troy, will she be able to make a fresh start or will new dangers face her?
1. Pressing On

_so i have like, three other stories going on but i had this idea and couldn't resist. it's kind of based off the book "The Guardian" but let's say loosely based. _

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**THE GUARDIAN**

_Somewhere back there I left my worries all behind.  
My problems fell out of the back of my mind.  
We're going and I'm never knowing where we're going.  
To go back to where I was would just be wrong.  
I'm pressing on.  
_**('Pressing On' / Relient K)**

Twenty-three year old Gabriella Montez sighed as she heard her alarm clock go off for the third time that morning. She stretched her arms and began to sit up when she realized the immense weight on her legs.

"Jake! Up boy!" she yelled, whistling at the large blue tick hound laying across her feet. The dog looked up lazily at her, and then plopped his head back down.

"Don't give me that buddy. Up! Up! Up!" She tried to kick her legs, forcing the dog up.

After Jake had finally gotten off the bed, Gabriella made her way into the bathroom and got into the shower. She stood there for at least twenty minutes letting the hot water fall down over her body. She had had _'the dream' _again last night.

_(Flashback)_

_"Matthew!" Gabriella screamed from the passenger seat. "Matthew, slow down!"_

The car continued to speed down the curvy road.

_Gabriella looked away from the road and over to her fiancé._

_"Matthew, please stop the car!"_

"Oh, come on baby! Let's have a little fun." He slurred as he looked over at her and smiled.

_Looking at her fiancé in the face, Gabriella was scared by what she saw. His expression was wild and crazed. Scared of his drunken state, she looked back to the road and noticed a flash of red and headlights in front of her._

_"MATTHEW!!"_

_(End Flashback)_

Gabriella had this dream often, replaying that night her fiancé and two other people were killed.

She knew it was Matthew's fault. It was the night of his bachelor party, and he had driven to pick Gabriella up after the party. He of course, swore he wouldn't drink, but he was never one to keep that promise. Gabriella would never have gotten into a car with a drunk driver, whether it was her fiancé or not, but as she reached over to pull his keys out of the ignition, he pulled her into the car and sped off. The rest was simple: Matthew ran a red light and collided with a car passing through. Matthew, the driver of the other car, and an eight year old girl were killed instantly. Gabriella and another passenger were both left with bumps, bruises, and broken bones.

It had been two years since the accident, and Gabriella had yet to live a normal life. She hadn't been on maybe three dates that ended terribly, her house was left in the same way that Matt had arranged it, and all of his clothes were left in drawers. The strangest thing was that she never missed or longed for that life, she just couldn't force herself to start a new one, scared of what may happen. She left herself in a state of limbo terrified of being hurt again.

Her thoughts were shaken by the ringing of the telephone.

"Hello?" She said, trying to force her voice to sound pleasant.

"Gabi, did Aidan leave his truck at your house the other night? We've been looking everywhere for it and he's throwing an absolute fit." Gabriella smiled as she immediately recognized the voice of her close friend, Sharpay Baylor. She had gone to high school with both Sharpay and her husband Zeke, and after a rocky start, became great friends.

"I haven't seen it around, but I'll look around. It's blue, right?"

"Yep, that's the one. He has the same thing in green and red, but no, we have to have the blue one." Sharpay sighed dramatically. "I don't understand how a child can get so attached to silly objects like he does."

"Sharpay, do you remember that pink rhinestone microphone you carried all throughout high school? We used to make it a goal to remove it from your grasp while you were sleeping at slumber parties."

"Okay, I get the point." She said and then paused. "Wait. Gabi, what's wrong?"

"Why would there be anything wrong?"

"You had the voice. The 'I'm trying to sound happy' voice. What's going on sweetie?"

Gabriella sighed. Her friends knew her too well.

"I had the dream again, Shar."

Sharpay sighed. "Gabriella, look. I love you, we all do, but you have to move on with your life. It's time to jump back into that thing we call life. Start dating again. You're young and beautiful and you have so much life ahead of you. Why do you want to spend it alone?"

Gabriella opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted.

"Do not say you have Jake in your life. A dog given to you by Matt does not count. Heck, any dog doesn't count as company."

"Sharpay." Gabriella started. "I don't even know who to date. There aren't any guys in this town worth dating. Do you really want me to date "Lazy Boy" from Mae's Kitchen?" Gabriella said causing her friend to laugh. It was a hobby for them to name the people who worked at the little shops around and about Albuquerque, somewhere they had all lived since high school. At the market there was 'Smiley Miley', and at the gas station the was "Creepy Nick." Needless to say, a fair amount of the people in the town had some sad nickname.

"Well, that's a very good point. But do not tell me there's not a single person in this town worth dating. I can name one guy in this town who's worth giving a chance. He's roughly six feet tall, nice body, and he has these amazing blue eyes."

Gabriella smiled at the thought of her very best friend, Troy Bolton. Ever since they turned their high school, East High, upside down, they had become they best of friends. Gabriella honestly couldn't see her life without Troy by her side. He had always been there, and the shoulder she needed after Matt died. And he was the only one who could lift her out the depression she fell into after that.

"Sharpay, I know that all of you are placing bets on when me and Troy get together, but Troy-"

"Gabi, do no give me that 'Troy's-my-best-friend-but-that's-all-he-will-ever-be' speech."

"You really do know me too well."

"Yes, I do. And I know you loved Matthew. We all know that, and will never doubt it either. But you have been _in _love with Troy since you were sixteen. Tell me I'm wrong."

"Look, Sharpay. I gotta get to work. Why don't we get lunch today?"

"You're not getting off the hook that easily Montez, but you're free for now. Mae's at noon?"

"Sounds good to me. Bye Shar."

"Bye Gabi."

Gabriella hung up the phone and went back to getting ready for work.

Twenty minutes later she was out the door and on her way with Jake at her heels. The local diner/shop she co-owned with Zeke was only a half mile or so away, so Gabriella rarely took her car. Besides, it was such a beautiful day, she couldn't resist. She relaxed as she walked with the sun warming her tan skin.

She was startled as Jake took off running. She looked ahead to where he was running and smiled as she recognized the figure approaching her.

"Whoa boy." The voice said as the dog approached him and stood on two legs to lick the man in the face.

"Jake! Down!" Gabriella yelled.

"Brie, it's really okay. He's just saying 'hi' to his favorite person in the entire world. Aren't ya Jake?"

Gabriella scoffed.

"Okay, second behind you." The man stood up and looked at Gabriella.

"Good morning, Troy." Gabriella smiled genuinely as she finally met up with her best friend.

"Good morning. I figured since it was such a beautiful day, you'd be walking. So I decided I'd meet you half way. Mind if I walk with you to work?"

"Not at all."

"So, what's new?"

Gabriella laughed. "Troy, I talked to you at like eleven last night. Not much can happen in nine hours."

Troy laughed with her. "Okay. How are you this morning? Is that question suitable for you princess?" He joked. Gabriella laughed. Troy could always bring her spirits up.

"Well, I'm good now." She said smiling over at him.

They walked the rest of the way to the shop where Gabriella worked in complete laughter.

As Gabriella approached her shop, she waved 'goodbye' to Troy, allowing Jake to follow him, and made her way into the shop.

"Someone was looking awful smiley with Troy this morning." She heard a deep voice from behind the counter.

"Did your wife tell you to say that."

Zeke made himself visible, a cake in his arms. "Okay, so maybe she did. But it's not like it's completely obvious or anything." he said with a smirk.

"Whatever, how about we get started on inventory before the morning rush comes in?"

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Yes ma'am."

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_tell me what you think!_

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	2. Moving On

**THE GUARDIAN**

_"I'm movin' on  
At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me  
And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone  
There comes a time in everyone's life  
When all you can see are the years passing by  
And I have made up my mind that those days are gone  
I'm movin' on."_  
**('Movin' On' / Rascal Flatts)**

Gabriella was wiping down the front counter when she heard the front door jingle. She turned her head and smiled when she saw an elderly lady walk through the front door.

"Bev!" She said, tossing the towel in her hand, and walking over to the woman engulfing her in a hug. "How was Jamaica?"

"Boring!" The older woman huffed. "It was just like every other tropical resort. Next trip, I'm going to Alaska."

Gabriella laughed. Beverly always had some complaint about her trips.

"But enough about me, my dear. I've been gone for three weeks. Please, tell me there's a man in your life?"

"Bev -" Gabriella started.

"No, no, no. I know that voice. Honey, I realize this is rough subject, but my nephew died two years ago. It's time you do something to make yourself happy again, dontcha think?"

"I'm working on it Bev." Gabriella muttered.

"Ha. Working on it. What about Troy? You know how much I love that boy. And honestly, I'm only giving you so much time before I go after him myself."

"Oh, but Bev, Gabs has no feelings for Troy whatsoever. Don't you remember?" A very sarcastic male voice came from behind the counter.

"Zeke!" Bev cried out. "Boy, you get more handsome each time I see you, it's such a shame you're married." She said making Zeke chuckle.

"Here's your blueberry muffin with a side of butter, Bev."

"Oh, you're good." She said taking the plate. "Now seriously, Gabriella. Why on Earth is pretty girl like you forcing herself to stay single."

"But Matth-"

"Rubbish! TWO years Gabriella. Even Matthew, God rest his soul, wants you to move on. Can you honestly tell me you're happy being alone like this? Please, just give someone a chance."

"Bev, I'm not sure you're the right person to talk about this with."

Behind the counter, Zeke huffed causing Gabriella to look at him. "What?" She asked.

"Apparently there's no one out there who's 'right' to talk about this with."

"Okay Gabs." Bev cut in. "What did I tell you when you two announced you were getting married?"

"You told me to run for my life." Gabriella laughed.

"Exactly, now I said that-" Bev stopped when she heard the door jingle, and all three turned to see the man who was walking in. He was tall, with dark brown hair, and young- maybe in his later twenties or early thirties.

"Uh, hi. I'm not really from this area, and I was looking to get a cup of coffee."

"Well, you're in the right place!" Gabriella said with a smile. "Just sit down and I'll get you a cup."

"Oh, he is so mine." Bev whispered to Gabriella as she got up to get the coffee. The man walked over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. Gabriella brought the coffee, along with some cream and sugar and placed it in front of him.

"So what brings you here to Albuquerque?" Gabriella said from behind the counter.

"I'm a contractor. My company is going to repair some of the bridges in downtown Albuquerque, as well as restoring some of it's older buildings."

"Oh, thank God. I'm always terrified of those bridges falling through. Me and my friends always joke about it."

"Well, I hope not after I'm finished." He said smiling.

They both continued to carry on light conversation for about twenty minutes, while Bev and Zeke watched.

"Is Gabriella flirting?" Bev asked astonished.

"It really appears that way doesn't it? When does Gabriella ever flirt… with anyone."

"I guess we can't complain. We're all always harassing her to move on with her life. Maybe she's actually going to take our advice."

"Well, I guess I'll have to agree with you there. I just don't wanna be the one to tell Troy."

"Yeah, about that. Why in God's name hasn't the boy told her how he feels? As if it isn't obvious enough?"

"Troy doesn't want to step on any toes. He knows what happened with Matthew was devastating to Gabi. He doesn't want to make things worse for her. Plus, I think he feels that if she didn't have any feelings for him before, why would she now? So he remains the best friend."

"He really thinks she has no feelings for him?"

"I guess so. He's always felt that way. Especially after she accepted Matthew's proposal."

"Why she did that I have no idea." Bev muttered.

"Huh?" Zeke asked astonished. Bev _was _Matthew's aunt after all.

"Look, our family adored Gabriella. We still do. But it wasn't hard to see that Matthew wasn't the one she was in love with. Even Matthew knew it, and he hated Troy because of it."

"Wait, Matt really hated Troy?" Zeke's voice was incredulous. This was all brand new information to him.

"Oh, Matthew loathed Troy. Of course he'd never say anything to Gabs, or any of you, but he hated Troy more than anything. I'm a believer that fate works it's magic, but why didn't Troy and Gabs get together before she met Matthew?"

"They're both too stubborn. They were both afraid it would ruin their friendship, or afraid of hurting each other. I'm not really sure what it was. They were inseparable back then."

"Back then? They're still inseparable." Bev laughed, and looked over at the strange man with Gabriella. "Looks like our friend is leaving."

They watched as Gabriella smiled at the man as he extended his hand and shook hers. He then handed her a piece of paper and walked out. Gabriella made her way back to the other two, and began to nonchalantly wipe off the counters.

"So you're not going to even care to explain that?" Zeke asked.

"Explain what?"

"That." Bev said cutting in. "You and Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome over there."

"What about it? We were just talking. He's really nice. His name is Adam Bell."

"That was not just talking. And we saw him give you his phone number." Bev said, forcing the subject.

"Yeah, he did. But I was seriously just talking. I probably won't even call him. I just thought he was very nice."

Bev looked at Gabriella. Did she just say she probably wouldn't call? Most guys that came after Gabriella never got a probably or even a second thought. Maybe Gabriella really was moving on.

"Well, I think if you want to call him, you should." Bev said, receiving a glare from Zeke.

"Well, like I said. I may or may not call him." Gabriella said and then walked into the back room.

"Okay, you're telling Troy!" Zeke hissed across the counter as Bev.

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i promise they'll get longer. please review!!


	3. Good Love Is On The Way

**THE GUARDIAN**

_"Three years broken hearted  
But now her ghost is finally gone  
I'm done with broken people  
This is me  
I'm working on (cause I know)_**('Good Love is on the Way' / John Mayer Trio)**

Good love is on the way  
I've been lonely but I know I'll be ok  
Good love is on the way"

"Okay, Zeke, I'm taking off. Who's closing tonight?" Gabriella asked grabbing her purse off of the back counter.

"Aarons, I think. So we should be fine."

"Awesome. That poor boy's gonna quit on us we work him so much."

"Well, he's the only one I actually trust Gabs."

"I know, Zeke. Trust me, I know."

Ever since they had opened the café, Gabriella and Zeke had had the worst luck with employees. Between theft and having people actually show up to work, they really had had some winners. Everyone except Roger Aarons, a seventeen year old senior from East High. They both knew he was young, but they could both trust him more than anyone in the store, even those who were years older than him. They also knew the job gave him an escape from a rough home life, and Gabriella always tried to make sure he felt needed at the café. It was quite obvious to everyone that Roger had a harmless school boy crush on Gabriella, and Zeke and the guys loved to make running jokes about it. But in the end, Roger had more of a family at the café than anywhere else.

Gabriella said one final goodbye to Zeke, and walked out the front door. She stood on the front porch, and breathed in the sweet spring air. She really loved days like this. She put her fingers to her mouth and let out a long whistle. A minute later, Jake came running around the corner and right up to her feet.

"You ready to go boy?" She asked the large dog who nodded his head. Gabriella started walking with Jake right at her heels.

"So what did you think of Adam?" She asked Jake, causing him to stop and growl.

"Now, Jake, don't be like that."

To most people, this picture would just look like a crazy lady carrying a conversation with her dog. But everyone in the small suburb of Albuquerque knew that Jake really wasn't an ordinary dog. He never had been. Gabriella and matt had bought the dog just days before the accident. In the weeks following, Gabriella really debated giving him away, but she began to discover that he had very different qualities. Of course he was an adorable puppy, but he was incredibly smart. He had never received any sorts of training but was able to do anything that Gabriella ordered. She'd one asked him to bring her the hair brush in a joking manner, but Jake ran into the bathroom and came out with the brush in his mouth. When Gabriella would watch TV, he would jump onto the couch and stare at the screen. If the radio was on he would bop his head to the music. And if someone was talking to him, he would nod his head as if he were listening. No one really understood it, but Jake had many humanlike qualities. In the last two years, besides Troy of course, Jake had become a confidant for her. She could tell him things she wanted no one else to know, and he would at least act like he understood. And lately, as all of her friends had been pressuring her to go on dates, Jake was becoming more and more unhappy with it. A few months ago they all talked her into going out with a guy named Scott. He seemed nice at first, but when they went out, Gabriella shortly noticed that Scott was off… on some other planet. Next came Lenny, who took Gabriella to the drive ins, and she spent the entire night trying not to breathe because he smelled that bad. Then she had gone out with James, the wealthy lawyer that worked in the firm that Chad had an internship at. He showed up at Gabriella's small house in a limo, and gave her a dozen roses. They went to this fancy restaurant in downtown Albuquerque, but the entire time Gabriella was distracted by how arrogant James really was. Needless to say after that, Gabriella went back to not dating at all.

"Okay, Jake. I know that I've gone out with some real winners lately, but will you at least give him a chance? He seems nice."

Jake began to walk again, but with a low growl in his throat.

"Now who are we giving a chance this time Jake?" A friendly voice came from behind. Jake immediately whipped around and bolted for the man behind them.

"Sometimes Troy, I think he likes you more than me." Gabriella laughed.

"Oh, I don't think so." Troy responded looking up from petting Jake. "I know so."

"Great, even my own dog doesn't like me best." Gabriella pouted.

"Well, Brie. I like you best, how about that?" Troy said with a smile on his face.

"That works for me. So what you up to Troy?"

"Well, until next March, I'm pretty much doing nothing." He joked with her. Troy had been signed to play with the Lakers for their next season and was hanging out with his family and friends until he had to move for conditioning and training next spring.

"Well then, why don't you walk me home?" Gabriella said sweetly. "I'm sure it would make Jake happy."

"Well, only because Jake insists." Troy laughed. "So who is it we're giving a chance?"

Gabriella debating telling Troy about Adam, but then decided he would figure it out sooner or later. "This guy came into the café today and gave me his phone number. You know how Sharpay and Bev are about me dating again. I was trying to decide if I wanted to call him or not." She finished and looked to see how much damage she'd done.

Troy held in any anger or jealousy he possibly could, and put on the fake smile he'd learned to use in this situation. "Well, maybe you should give him a chance." He said, really forcing the happy appearance.

"Well, I don't' know. I might, I'm just not sure I'm ready for any of that again. Remember all the others."

"How could I forget? The weird dude, the arrogant ass, and the smelly perv who took you to the drive ins hoping he'd get some." He said laughing.

"Exactly! Who wants to go through any of that again? Not me!"

Troy smiled genuinely. He knew he could talk her out of it if he just played it off right. "Well, Brie, if you're not ready, none of us will judge you. I promise. Just take you're time. I think that right guy is out there for you and he'll come along when YOU are ready for it."

"Thanks, Troy." Gabriella said, noticing that they had arrived at her house. "I'll call you a little later, sound good?"

"I'll be looking forward to it." He said smiling. Gabriella gave him a hug and went inside. Troy walked away smiling thinking he didn't have to worry about Mr. Nice-Guy-From-The-Café anymore.

Boy, was he wrong.


	4. Getting Into You

_yes, i know i've been terrible about updating. i've been on a roll the last few weeks, so look forward to some more. i'm going out of town this week so i should have the next update sometime around sunday. REVIEW!_

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**The Guardian**_"When I finally ironed out  
All of my priorities  
And asked God to remove the doubt  
That makes me so unsure of these  
Things I ask myself, I ask myself  
Do you know what you are getting yourself into?"  
_**('Getting Into You' / Relient K)**

Gabriella wiped down all counters after the afternoon rush. The place was a mess, but she wasn't going to complain. Business was business. It had been three days since Adam had stopped in the shop, and while she debated calling him several times, she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. She finished wiping off the counters and tables, and walked back behind the counter to get a broom. She turned when she heard the bell on the front door jingle and saw the very man she had just been thinking about.

"Well hello Adam." She said as he stepped through the door.

"Hello." He smiled.

"What brings you here this fine afternoon?"

Adam walked up and sat at the bar stool. "Well, I could say I'm here for a cup of coffee, but truth be told, I've already used that line. So honestly, there's this pretty girl here I'd like to take to dinner."

Gabriella smiled, and slightly blushed. "Yeah? I'm not sure I know her."

"Oh. I must be in the wrong place." He joked. "What about you? You want to go to dinner with me?"

Gabriella laughed and thought about it. What would she be losing anyways? If she didn't like him it wasn't like she had to marry him or anything. What could one date hurt?

"How's tomorrow sound?" She said looking up at him.

"Tomorrow sounds great. Pick you up at seven?" He asked,

"Sounds good to me." Gabriella grabbed a napkin, and a pen out of her smock, and wrote down her address. "I'll see you then."

Adam smiled, taking the napkin. "Well, I'd better get back to work. I'll see you tomorrow Gabriella."

* * *

Gabriella tugged nervously at the bottom of her dress. She had always hated first dates. They were so incredibly nerveracking. She took one last look at the black dress she had chosen to wear, trying to decide if it looked alright.

She heard the door bell ring, followed by loud barking and growling by Jake.

"Be right there!" She called. She walked over to the door, pulled Jake back, and opened the door. There stood Adam with a dozen roses, dressed in a blue button up shirt and black slacks.

"Hi." She said, her hand still on Jake's collar, who was still growling.

"Hello. These are for you." he handed her the roses, which Gabriella took with her free hand. She let Jake go, who backed off but stared at the intruder in his house.

"Looks like he pretty protective of you." Adam said, staying as far from the dog as he could.

"Oh, he's a big baby really." Gabriella said. She put the roses in a vase and walked over to Adam. "You ready?"

"Let's go." He said, taking her hand. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Gabriella smiled as he led her out to the car pulled in the drive.

* * *

Gabriella and Adam were seated in the middle of Bravo, and Italian restaurant in downtown Albuquerque. Having just finished their salads, they had begun eating the main course.

"So tell me about yourself." Adam said, sipping his wine.

Gabriella swallowed her bite of rigatoni. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Well, where did you grow up?"

"I was born right here in New Mexico. We moved around quite a bit after my Dad died, but somehow we ended up here." She smiled proudly.

"No kidding. You must like it here."

"Yeah. I have great friends, and it's a great place to raise a family. I couldn't ask for anything more. How 'bout you? Where'd you grow up?"

Adam shifted in his seat before answering. "All over I guess. My dad was a Marine, so I've been stationed all over. I'm the spitting image of a military brat."

"Well, I'm sure that's a hard life style to live by."

"No, not really I guess. I sort of grew accustom to it. And now the whole contracting thing is pretty much the same thing. I'll have to call my kids contracting brats." He joked.

Gabriella laughed, and took the last bite of her meal. "Where did you go to school then?"

"Ohio Northern University. They have a great engineering program."

"Wow. That's far away from here."

"Yeah, like I said, I've been all over. But I settled in Ohio for several years."

"Oh?" Gabriella asked, intrigued.

"Well, I was married. She lived there."

"Oh. What happened?"

"It just didn't work out. We were married too young I guess."

"I'm sorry."

"Eh, it's okay. I guess God knows what he's doing huh? If I was still married I definitely wouldn't be here with you. And that would be a shame." he winked at her.

Gabriella smiled. "I was engaged." She blurted out.

"See, we all have a past anyways. What happened with you?"

"He died."

"Oh. Well, I truly am sorry."

"It's been years. I have no idea why I blurted that out." She laughed nervously.

Adam laughed with her. "Would you like to walk around town after dinner?"

Gabriella nodded. "That sounds great."

* * *

"Have you talked to your manager yet?" Chad asked, shooting a basketball.

Troy rebounded the ball, dribbled it a few times and shot. "Yeah. He's calling for another press conference in a few weeks." Rebound. Dribble. Swish.

Chad got the ball this time, bouncing it at his side. "Well, I'm sure you've got it all figured out, but if you need anything you know where to find me." Dribble. Dribble. Swish.

"Thanks Chad. I'll definitely let you know. I can't believe it's only a few months away."

"I know man. It's pretty amazing. Don't you forget about us, you hear?"

"Dude. It's me. Besides, we both know you would have been right there with me if you hadn't have busted your knee."

"Thanks man."

Troy shot the ball. Swish.

"So," Chad started, the ball in his hands. "have you talked to Gabriella about, well, you know?"

"No, I talked to her a little yesterday on the walk home, but she stayed silent about it."

"You know, you could just tell her how you feel."

"Gabriella is my friend. That's all." Dribble, dribble. Clunk.

Chad went chasing after the ball that had bounced hard off of the rim. "Oh okay. Well I guess you probably wouldn't be interested in hearing about her dates then." Dribble. Swish.

"How would you even know?" Troy said, putting up an air ball.

"Dude. Taylor- wife. Tells me freaking everything. You know, you really suck. You sure the Lakers want you?"

"Shut up Chad. Tell me about the date."

"But I thought you-"

"Chad." Troy said angrily.

"Dude. Chill. So apparently Engineer Boy took her out Friday night to some fancy Italian place. They walked around town, talked, wahtever. Saturday he took her to a picnic at the butterfly conservatory, followed by dinner at some other nice restaurant. I guess today they were going to some musical festival in Santa Fe."

Troy clenched the ball, and shot it hard at the basket. It bounced off the backboard and went straight for Chad, who ducked from the approaching ball. "Whoah man."

* * *

"No, I had a great time Taylor. He's really nice."

"Bravo, the Conservatory, Artichoke Cafe, and then a music festival in Santa Fe. He sounds _really_ nice. And completely loaded."

"You know that has nothing to do with anything Tay."

"Sure, sure." Taylor teased. "So when are you two going out again?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I haven't called him back yet."

"And why not?"

"I'm just giving it time Taylor. I don't want to rush anything. He's nice."

"As long as you know what you're doing."

"I'm a big girl." She laughed. "Hey, I've got to do some work for the cafe. I'll talk to you later, sound good?"

"Sounds good to me. You better let me know of any new developments that pop up."

"I promise. Bye Taylor."

"Bye Gabs."

Gabriella put the phone back on it's cradle and walked over to her couch. She sat down, pulling a blanket around her and patting on the couch inviting Jake to lay with her.

"What do you think, boy? Should I call him?"

Jake growled loudly.

"Yeah. I'll give it a little bit more time."

She grabbed the remote and flipped on the tv, stretching out and getting cozy on the couch. After her busy weekend, she was definitely ready for a relaxing evening.


	5. With A Little Help From My Friends

**The Guardian**

_"What do I do when my love is away?  
Does it worry you to be alone?  
How do I feel by the end of the day?  
Are you sad because you're on your own?  
No, I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm I get high with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm I'm gonna to try with a little help from my friends"  
_**('With A Little Help From My Friends' / The Beatles)**

"I think you should just call him. Maybe a few more dates will help you figure out your feelings." Sharpay said, taking a sip of her soda.

Gabriella looked over at her friend. She, Taylor, and Sharpay had met for lunch at their favorite deli in town, and they were currently discussing Gabriella's relationship with Adam. She knew she liked him, she just wasn't sure how much.

"I agree Gabs. If you're not sure about him, another date might help you figure that out. All relationships are iffy in the beginning anyways. And you've been so reserve in that department anyways in the last few years. It could be messing with your head." Taylor added.

"Yeah." Gabriella said. "You're right. Adam is really nice and smart, and he's obviously successful. I just keep thinking maybe I'm still not ready for all of this yet."

Taylor and Sharpay looked at their friend and shook their heads. It was Taylor who spoke first. "Gabs, I don't think it's that you're not ready. I think you truly haven't dated someone in so long, and I think part of you feels guilty dating after what happened to Matt."

Gabriella nodded her head. "I guess I just thought if it was the right person it would feel right. I'm just so confused about this."

"Just give him a few more dates. I don't want you to send him away only to regret it later. He could be _the_ _one_."

Sharpay nodded her head in agreement.

Gabriella looked at her two friends and slowly nodded her head, looking off and thinking about what they had said. What harm could a couple more dates do anyways? She shook off her thoughts and turned to Taylor.

"So Tay, tell us about the exciting things that happened to you this week."

Taylor looked at both of them nervously. "I, uh, have to tell you guys something."

Gabriella, seeing Taylor's expression, began to worry. "Taylor is something wrong? Is something wrong between you and Chad?"

Sharpay's fists balled up. "I will kill that man if he did anything to you."

"No, no, nothing like that." Taylor said shaking her head. "We're definitely doing okay."

"Well, what is it then?" Sharpay said in her usual dramatically whiny voice.

"We're having a baby!" Taylor announced excitedly.

"What?!" Sharpay and Gabriella said in unison.

"Yeah. I'm almost two months along. We went to the doctor's yesterday." She said proudly.

"Wow, Tay. That's amazing. I'm so happy for you."

"Me too, Taylor." Sharpay added. "And how is Chad taking the news?"

"He hasn't stopped smiling since we left the doctor's office." Taylor laughed thinking about it. "He's just so excited about it. We had to stop and buy a baby basketball onesie on the way home yesterday. I think he's over telling Troy and Zeke now."

Gabriella looked over at Sharpay who had already pulled out her phone and began texting.

"Shar?" She asked confused.

"I'm texting Ryan, Jason, and Kelsi. This news is just too good to keep in."

Gabriella looked back at Taylor and they both laughed. She continued to listen as Taylor went on about her news: the doctor's office, her parents reaction, etc. She loved that her friends had all found that once in a lifetime kind of happiness that she only dreamed of. But Gabriella knew deep down that she would find it too.

* * *

Gabriella quickly made her way up her driveway and walked up her front porch steps. Reaching to open the door, she noticed a note on the handle.

_Gabriella,_

_I had an amazing time with you last weekend. I cannot wait until I see you again. _

_Until then, Adam_

She smiled and continued her way into the house. She placed her purse on the table, pushing the 'play' button on the answering machine as she did so. After listening to several telemarketing calls, she reached for the phone and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Hey Adam. It's Gabriella."

"Oh, hi! I was hoping I would hear from you soon. How are you?"

"I'm doing good. I was wondering if you'd like to go out again?"

"Of course. We could go tonight if you'd like." Adam said, trying not to sound desperate. "There's a new movie out I think."

Gabriella thought for a moment. "I can't tonight. How does Saturday sound?"

"Ah, got another date do ya?" Adam laughed, but Gabriella could hear worry in his voice.

"No, nothing like that. My friend Troy is coming over. It's kind of a weekly thing. We get pizza, watch movies, stuff like that. I told you about him didn't I?"

"Oh yeah. I remember you saying something about that. Well, I definitely cannot let you miss that. Saturday at six-thirty sound good?"

"That sounds great. I'll see you then."

"Have a great time tonight Gabriella. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Thanks, Adam. Bye bye."

Gabriella placed the phone back in it's cradle and went to take a bath before Troy came over.

* * *

Several hours later, Troy and Gabriella were sitting on the front porch, eating what was left of their pizza and talking away at every little thing.

"So how is Chad _really_ handling the baby news?" Gabriella asked.

"Scared I think. You can tell he's nervous about becoming a father, but I guess any guy would be scared at that thought. But he's really really excited too. It was all he could talk about."

"Well, that's good. I'm so happy for them. Taylor was just telling me and Shar about how she was wanting to start a family."

"Yeah. I'm happy for them too. I just can't wait to see Chad try and change a diaper." He laughed as he said this.

Gabriella also laughed. "Seems like we're kinda getting left out now huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Sharpay and Zeke already have Aidan. And now Chad and Taylor have one on the way. Do you feel like we're just wasting time acting like high school kids staying up all night eating pizza and waiting for the 'right one' to come along?"

"Brie. We're twenty three years old. It's not like we're at the end of the line. And if I know you as well as I think I do, you have so many goals you still want to accomplish in life. Not that I'm saying what they have is bad. I just see you going so much farther before you settle down."

Gabriella knew Troy was right. It was probably her jealousy of her friends' happiness that was talking. And she knew Troy wanted that happiness too. "Thanks Troy. You always can cheer me up."

"That's what I'm here for." He said, giving her his award winning smile. They sat like that in a comfortable silence for some time.

"So how long til LA?" She asking, sitting back in the rocking chair. She knew exactly how long it was until Troy left. Five months and twelve days, and Gabriella was dreading that day with everything in her. Of course she would never tell him that. This was his dream, and she wouldn't be the one to stop him. She wanted him to know how proud she was of him, and that she would support him til the end.

"I leave mid-March. So I'd say five or six months." He said counting on his fingers.

"Wow. I always forget how close that really is."

Troy could hear the sadness in her voice, but chose not to push it. It was a tough subject for himself and all of his friends. No one wanted him to leave, and the subject was often avoided.

"Yeah. I do too."

Troy glanced down at the time on his phone. He hasn't realized it had gotten so late. It seemed he and Gabriella could always talk into the late hours of the night.

"Well, I should probably get going. Some of us have to work tomorrow you know." He said winking at her.

"Yeah. Not you." She laughed as Troy feigned a look of hurt. He opened his arms to pull her into a hug.

"Have a good night Brie. I'll stop by the café sometime tomorrow to see you. Sound good?"

"Sounds great, Troy." She pulled away from the hug and watched as he walked down the step and turned to wave before walking away.

Gabriella waved back, sighing softly. She would miss him so much when he left. She would miss the nights like this where they would sit and talk about everything for hours upon hours. For as long as she had known Troy, they had never had any problem talking or finding anything to talk about. Most of all, Troy was her closest friend, her system of support, and the person she went to for about ninety nine percent of the things that went on in her life. She wasn't sure how she'd hold up when he left.

She stood there until Troy's shadow had completely disappeared before turning in and going to bed.

* * *

Two days later Gabriella still had Troy on her mind. She wasn't sure what the deal was but she couldn't help but think about how much time they really didn't have left .

She looked into the mirror to check her dress one last time. Adam would be there any moment, and she wanted to look good. After talking with her friends at lunch the other days and having a small conversation with Bev at the café, she felt good about everything. She knew she was unsure about it, but they all reassured her it was just her insecurities and doubts from Matthew. Besides Adam was practically perfect. He was attractive, smart, kind, and successful. Any girl would swoon over him.

She jumped at the sound of the doorbell, and quickly made her way out to the living room.

"Jake! Room!." She said sternly, watching as the dog lowered his head and sauntered into the bedroom. Gabriella turned to the door, smiling as she opened it. Adam stood there in a white button down and gray slacks.

"Gabriella, you look beautiful."

Gabriella blushed and stepped outside. "Thank you. You look nice as well."

They walked out to his car, Adam opening the door for her before making his way over to his own side.

"So where are we going tonight?" She asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"I made reservations at La Stanza Blu. Is that okay?"

Gabriella taken back. She had never been there, but had heard it was a really nice place. Really nice, and really expensive. Gabriella wasn't exactly well off, and fancy restaurants had never really been her thing. But she could always give it a chance - Adam was really into the fancy restaurant thing. Zeke and Chad had both proposed at La Stanza Blu, and that was the only thing she had ever heard about it. It was too expensive for Sharpay... which said something.

"Of course that's okay. You don't have to do that. I know it's a really nice place." Gabriella said, hoping he would catch the hint that he didn't need to spend all this money on her. She would be happy either way.

"And you deserve to be taken somewhere nice." He said smiling at her.

About twenty minutes later, Adam pulled his car into the parking lot of La Stanza Blu and drove up to the valet.

Once inside the building, Gabriella couldn't help but stare. Dark marble adorned the walls, matched with white marble tiled floor. Large crystal chandeliers came down from the ceilings, illuminating the room in sparkles. Looking around at all the people, she stiffened. She always felt uncomfortable in places like this. The people were stuffy and rude. She linked arms with Adam and followed the waiter to their table.

The waiter handed each of them a menu, which Gabriella quickly observed to be completely in Italian. _'Why do restaurants do this to people?'_ She asked herself. She recognized a few words- lasagna, parmigiana, fettuccine- all the basic Italian foods.

The waiter came back minutes later, and Gabriella waited as she listened to Adam order in fluent Italian. The waiter looked over to Gabriella, who was slightly embarrassed, and she ordered chicken parmigiana, or at least what she thought was chicken parmigiana.

"I can't believe you speak Italian." Gabriella said as soon as the waiter left.

"Oh yeah. I took several courses in high school and in college. It really is a beautiful language. Do you speak any other languages?"

"Well, my mother is Filipino, so I'm pretty much fluent in that. I can't even talk to my grandparents in English."

"That's awesome you have all that culture in your family. My family has always been as boring as a doorknob."

"Oh. Where do your parents live now?"

Adam shifted in his chair. "I actually don't know anymore. My dad's still in the military. He'll probably be a lifer." He laughed. "But we had a falling out years ago, so I have no idea where he is stationed."

"Oh." Gabriella said sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's really okay. So did you have a good time the other night with your friend?" Gabriella could tell he was changing the subject, but she didn't push it.

"I always have a great time with Troy. He's been my best friend since I was a Junior in high school."

"That's really nice you two have kept your friendship going. What does he do for a living?"

Gabriella nervously adjusted her necklace she was wearing. The gang never made a big deal about Troy's profession simply because he didn't want them to. He would always be just Troy, and that's all that mattered to them.

"Uh, he plays basketball for the Lakers." She said quickly.

Adam looked at her an burst out laughing. "Good one. So what does he really do?"

"I'm serious. He just signed this year. He'll begin training next spring."

Adam looked at her eyes for any clue that she was joking, but could totally see she was telling the truth.

Adam had no idea how to respond to that. "Wow."

* * *

Almost two hours later Adam pulled into Gabriella's drive. He got out of the car and opened the door for her, escorting her to the door.

"I had an amazing time Adam. Thank you." Gabriella said as they reached the steps.

"I did too. I have a gift for you." He said pulling out a jewelry box.

"Adam-"

"Please don't say it's too much. You haven't even opened it yet."

Gabriella slowly took the box and opened it. Inside was a silver bracelet chain with a silver heart pendent. On the heart theword _Gabriella _engraved in cursive.

"It's beautiful Adam. You didn't have to do all of this."

"I told you Gabriella, you deserve it all. Thank you for another amazing night." He said and leaned in for a kiss.

Gabriella welcomed the kiss, putting her arms around his neck as she did so. She was surprised when she felt nothing when their lips made contact. No spark, no butterflies, no connection. Absolutely nothing.

Adam pulled away and smiled, and stepped down the first two steps. "I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight Brie."

Gabriella waved and watched as he turned and got into his car and pulled away. The date was nice, she waited all night to feel that something special. That feeling that made your heart flutter, but the kiss told her everything. She had no spark with Adam. And the way he called her 'Brie' only made it worse. Only one person was allowed to call her that.

* * *

_please review!_


	6. You Are The Music In Me

**The Guardian  
**  
Gabriella woke up the next morning completely confused. She walked into her house the night before 99 percent sure she had no feelings for Adam whatsoever. But lying in bed the next morning, she started to doubt how sure she really was.

She knew that Adam was a really great guy. He was smart, and so kind to Gabriella. He owned his own contracting business, had nice things, and worked hard to get there. Even though Gabriella wasn't too big on expensive gifts, the bracelet he had bought her was really beautiful and thoughtful. And he was very handsome in his own rugged way.

She then wondered what about the kiss felt so wrong. She had had a wonderful time with him at the restaurant, laughing as they both carried on throughout the night. She finally concluded she had made herself so nervous over the whole ordeal that it felt wrong.

After laying in bed thinking about it, she decided she wouldn't count all of her chickens until she knew that Adam wasn't the guy for her. One kiss couldn't tell her anything.

She quickly got out of bed, already having wasted too much time pondering over her little dilemma, and noticed she was already late for work. She mentally scolded herself. Sundays were the busiest day at the café, always catching a rush of church groups for lunch and dinner. She quickly jumped in the shower, got out, and got and dressed. She pulled her back to the side of her head creating a curly pony tail, leaving some curls out to frame her face. After applying little make-up, she was finally satisfied to go to work.

As she stepped outside of her house, she noticed it was another beautiful day in Albuquerque. It was probably her most favorite thing about living there. Growing up she had moved around a lot. It wasn't until they came here that her mother and her settled in one area. And even though Isabella, her mother, had moved almost four years ago, Gabriella couldn't bring herself to leave.

She rounded the corner in town, seeing the cafe down the road realizing that she hadn't seen Troy the entire way there, which was unusual. She looked forward to seeing him on her walk to the café every morning.

She walked into the shop and was grateful to find that the afternoon rush hadn't quite made it in yet.

"Hey there Zeke!" She yelled back into the kitchen. She laughed when he emerged from behind the ovens in his chefs outfit completely covered in a white powder.

"Waffle batter?" She asked, holding back giggles.

He nodded his head as he wiped the powder off of his face. "So, the date must have gone well. You're strolling in here later than usual."

Gabriella smiled. "Yeah, I had a really good time."

"So, you think he's someone to actually get serious with?"

Gabriella thought about it for a moment. "Well, I'm still trying to figure that one out but I do know I'd like to spend more time with him and see."

Zeke nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. He was really hoping Gabriella dating Adam would only make her realize that she really was in love with Troy. But it didn't look like that was happening. Suddenly, he remembered something.

"Troy stopped by in to see you this morning."

"Oh really? Where did he go off to? I didn't see him on the walk here."

"He had some meeting in California. He was on his way to the airport this morning, but he said he'll be flying back tonight. I guess it's one of the perks of being a 'Laker'."

Gabriella smiled at that. "I'm not ready for him to leave." She said quietly.

"Well, you know he still has a couple months. And will you honestly ever be ready for him to leave?"

Gabriella looked up at him. "Good point. I just don't what I'm going to do without him. I mean, it's _Troy."_

Zeke nodded. "We'll see him a lot more than you think we will."

"You're just telling me that to make me feel better."

Zeke knew what she had said was true. He also knew they would all miss Troy deeply. He then thought of the question he knew that all of his friends, minus Troy of course, were thinking. "What does Adam think of Troy?"

Gabriella gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Zeke sighed. "Well, knowing you I'm sure you and Troy's friendship has been mentioned quite a few times. I'm sure that can be really tough for a guy to take in. I think I'd be jealous if Sharpay was as close of friends with a guy like you are with Troy."

"But Shar is close with Troy, and Chad too."

"Yea, but that's different. We all grew up as friends. Adam just met you a few weeks ago. He doesn't understand that. If you and Adam get serious, your relationship with Troy is going to change a lot."

Gabriella thought about what he said. She knew deep down he was right. But Gabriella had always been a determined person, and she knew if anyone could make it work, it would be her.

* * *

Later that day Gabriella cleaned up as the rest of the dinner crowd trickled out of the café. As soon as she saw the last person leave the building, she slumped herself down in one of the couches set up in the lobby. As many Sundays she had worked since they opened the shop, she could never get used to how busy they were. She looked at the door when she heard a familiar jingle from the bell over the door.

She smiled when she saw Adam walk in.

"Hey there." She said standing up and walking over to greet him. "How are you?"

"I'm better now." He smiled and leaned down to give her a kiss. "How's your day been?"

Gabriella pushed away the uneasy feelings from the kiss. "It's been completely swamped in here. You just missed the crowd."

"Well, I won't complain. That only means I get you all to myself." He said winking at her.

Gabriella's cheeks blushed in response to his comment. "So how about you? How's your day been so far?"

"Eh, pretty uneventful. I went down to check the progress on one of the bridges downtown. That's about it. I just wanted to stop in and see when we were going out next?"

Zeke scoffed from behind the counter, causing both of them to turn and look at him. This guy was acting way too confident for his liking.

"Well, when are you free next?" Gabriella said, turning back to face Adam.

"What about Wednesday?" Adam asked. "Do you have to work?"

Gabriella already knew she didn't have to work Wednesday. One of their closet friends from high school, Kelsi Neilson, was playing in her band at a local bar called Jadie's, and none of them were going to miss it. When Kelsi called awhile ago to tell them all her band got signed, she made a point to play in her home town. It had been on all of their calendars for months.

"Uh, I have plans Wednesday."

"Darn. I'm going out of town on Thursday for some conference in St. Louis. I was hoping we could spend some time together before we leave."

"Oh. Well, my friends and I were going to watch my friend's band play on Wednesday and I-"

"I'd love to come!" Adam interrupted. "I haven't met any of your friends except Zeke."

Gabriella looked over to her friend behind the counter who immediately looked away. She wasn't sure if she should tell Adam no, or just let him come. What harm could it really do?

"Okay then. I know they'd all love to meet you. Besides, Kelsi such an amazing musician. Meet me Wednesday at six. We can ride together. Sound good?"

"Sounds great. I can't wait. I'll call you later. Bye Gabriella."

"Bye Adam. See you Wednesday."

* * *

"Okay, so does anyone else think its completely ridiculous Gabs ditched us for what's-his-face?" Chad asked annoyed as he took a drink of his beer.

Troy and Zeke both threw up their hands in response to his question.

"Guys, don't be like that. She'll be here any minute." Taylor said.

"Well, in any normal situation she'd already be here because she would have ridden with the rest of us." Zeke said.

"She really wants us to meet Adam, so be nice you three." She eyed Chad and Zeke, and then looked over to Troy who was slumping back in his chair. He had been brooding ever since he heard Adam was joining their night out.

"Or what, detention with Darbus?" Chad asked, causing Zeke to laugh.

Taylor went to chide her husband for being ignorant, but stopped when she saw a familial brunette walk into the bar. "See, I told you. There she is!" She said pointing over to the doorway. "Gabi! We're over here!"

Gabriella looked over and saw her friends calling her over and smiled. "Hey, there they are." She said nodding her head in the direction of her friends.

"Cool. Why don't you go say 'hi?' I'm going to go find us a seat."

"But they've saved us a seat. I told them I would just meet them here." Gabriella said, her voice mixed with shock and hurt.

"Gabriella, I thought maybe me and you could spend some time alone since I'm leaving tomorrow."

Gabriella looked at him, a little frustrated. He was serious about this. She didn't know why he didn't want to be around her friends. But she knew it was probably just nerves, and as soon as he warmed up a little but it would be okay.

"Okay, well I'll be right back then." She said, pulling away and walking over to her friends.

"Hey guys!" She said excitedly, happy to see all her friends together. It wasn't often they could all hang out together.

"So I take it that that's Adam?" Sharpay said pointing to the man sitting across the bar.

"Yeah that's him." Gabriella said nervously. She knew what was coming next.

"Why is he sitting over there?" Taylor asked.

"Well, we're going to watch the show over there. We'll come over and hang out in a little while."

"He doesn't want to sit with us?" Chad asked, his voice sounding a little angry.

"No, I just think he's a little nervous. That's all."

"Yeah, I'm sure he is. I'm so glad we planned this evening to hang out with 'the gang'. Glad you could join. I'm going to get another beer. You guys need anything?" He said looking to the other guys at the table

"I'm good." Zeke said.

"I'll just come with you." Troy said. Gabriella tried to catch his glance as he stood up, but she realized he was avoiding her. She watched as the two boys walked over to the bar, trying to keep the tears from springing in her eyes.

"Just ignore him Gabs. You know Chad has a bit of a temper." Taylor said trying to comfort her friend.

"Yeah. But Troy doesn't." Gabriella said softly, still looking over to where her best friend had over walked to.

* * *

Adam could feel Troy's gaze on him the entire night, and was loving every minute of it. It was about time to put this guy in his place. He looked over the man sitting across the bar, holding his gaze with him for several minutes, taunting him. He knew Troy wouldn't do anything, he wouldn't want to disappoint Gabriella, but it sure was fun messing with him.

* * *

Troy clenched his fists as he unsuccessfully tried to spy on Gabriella and Adam. Every time he glanced over there it seemed Adam was already there to meet his gaze.

"I hate him." He said through gritted teeth.

"Who?" Sharpay asked innocently even though she knew very well who he meant.

"Who do you think?" He snapped.

"Okay, don't get mad at me. And besides you don't even know the guy." Sharpay said defensively.

"Yeah, well neither do you. But we both know one thing."

"And that is?"

"That Gabriella isn't being herself and that means there's something wrong him."

"That doesn't mean any-"

"Jacobs Winters. Senior Year. Do you not remember how much Gabriella changed? Jacob wasn't a great guy, and we all knew that. He only wanted to get in her pants." By this point, Troy was fuming.

His friends didn't say anything in response. Chad and Zeke were already mad, and all four knew he was right. Gabriella wasn't someone to change for a guy, and if she did he probably wasn't worth it.

* * *

Gabriella snuck a glance over at her friends. She was already feeling extremely guilty about blowing them off, but now she could see they were arguing, and it was probably because of her. She was so torn on what to do. She had made several comments to Adam about going over and spending time with them, but he declined every time.

"You wanna get out of here?" She heard Adam say.

She turned her head to look at him. "But the band isn't-"

She stopped mid sentence when a familiar tune began to play from the stage. She felt as if she were moving in slow motion as she turned to the stage, and the looked over across the bar stopping when she met with two electric blue eyes.

_"Na na na na  
Na na na na, yeah"_

"Alright, alright everybody. We have a treat for you. Our keyboardist is apparently a local here." He paused at the loud applause from the far side of the room. "And she asked that we play this song tonight. So I guess now all I need is for Troy and Gabriella to come up on stage." The singer looked back at Kelsi to make sure he said the right names, and she nodded in approval.

Gabriella was in shock. She couldn't go up there and sing. She hadn't sang since high school, except for times like when she was driving or when she was in the shower or when she was goofing off with Troy.

"Is he talking about you?" Adam asked stunned.

"Y-y-yeah." Gabriella said finding it hard to find her voice.

"I didn't know you could sing!"

Before Gabreilla could answer him, she looked up and was staring into her favorite set of blue eyes.

"You coming with me Brie?" Troy said holding out his hand. He could feel Adam's eyes on him, but it felt good to get a little vengeance. "You know very well I can't sing without you."

Gabriella took Troy's hand, and the two of them made their way to the stage. As soon as they were standing in front of the two microphones, the band restarted the song.

Gabriella could hear Kelsi's voice from behind her starting the song and she knew she needed to start singing soon. She looked nervously over at Troy and found him giving her a reassuring gaze. And that, like always, was all she needed.

_You know the words "Once Upon A Time"  
Make you listen.  
There's a reason  
When you dream there's a chance you'll find  
A little laughter or a happy ever after  
_  
**_Your harmony to the melody  
It's echoing inside my head_**  
_A single voice_ **(single voice)  
**_Above the noise  
__**And like a common thread**_  
**Hmm, you're pulling me  
**  
_When I hear my favorite song  
I know that we belong_  
**Oh, you are the music in me**  
**Yeah it's living in all of us**  
_And it's brought us here because  
**Because you are the music in me**_

_**Na na na na**_ **(Ohh)  
****_Na na na na na  
_Yeah yeah yeah** _(Na na na na)  
**You are the music in me  
**_  
_It's like I knew you before we met_ **(Before we met)  
**_Can't explain it_ **(Ohh ohh)  
**_There's no name for it_ **(No name for it)**  
**_I'm saying words I never said_**  
**And it was easy**_ (So easy)_  
**Because you see the real me** _(I see)  
_**As I am**  
_**You understand  
And that's more than I've ever known**_

_To hear your voice_ **(Hear your voice)  
**_Above the noise_** (Ohh ohh)**  
_**I know I'm not alone**_  
_Oh you're singing to me_** (Ohh yeah)**

**_When I hear my favorite song  
I know that we belong_** **(Yeah ohh)  
**_**You are the music in me  
It's living in all of us  
And it's brought us here because  
You are the music in me  
Together we're gonna sing**_ **(Yeah)  
_We got the power to sing what we feel_ (What we feel)  
Connected and real**  
**_Can't keep it all inside_** **(Ohh)**

Gabriella smiled as she heard the rest of the band join in with her and Troy

_**Na na na na** (Ohh yeah)  
**Na na na na na** (Ohh yeah)  
**Yeah yeah yeah (Na na na na)**_  
_You are the music in me_ _(In me)_

_**Na na na na** (Ohh yeah)  
**Na na na na na** (Ohh yeah)  
**Na na na na  
You are the music in me**  
_  
_**When I hear my favorite song** (Favorite song)  
**I know that we belong** (We belong)  
**You are the music in me  
Yeah it's living in all of us  
It's brought us here because** (Here because)  
**You are the music in me**_

_**Na na na na** (Ohh yeah)  
**Na na na na** (Ohh yeah)  
_**_Na na na na  
You are the music in me_** **(Yeah)**

The crowd erupted in applause as Gabriella and Troy finished their song. They looked over at each other, their hearts pounding, smiles spread across their face. Gabriella had forgotten how much fun it was to sing like that, especially with Troy right there next to her.

They quickly stepped off of the stage, Troy heading back towards his friends and Gabriella towards Adam.

"I'm going to go sit with my friends, you coming?" She asked as she reached him.

"Well, I was actually thinking maybe we could get outta here." He replied flatly.

"Nah, I'm going stay awhile. I'm totally wired now anyways. Plus, I want to see Kelsi before she has to leave. Good luck at your conference. See ya." She said all in one breath, leaning over to kiss his cheek before walking away, leaving Adam stunned. He clenched his fists and walked out of the bar.

* * *

_if you can't follow my crazy bold, italics, underlined mess up there. just look up the song. although i'm sure you know it by heart just like i do. let me know what you think!_


	7. Elsewhere

_**alrighty. i'm back. my brother's wedding is done and overwith, so that means no more stress and more time to write for all of you! please review!**_  
**

* * *

**

**The Guardian**

_"I believe  
This is heaven to no one else but me  
And I'll defend it long as I can be left here to linger in silence  
If I chose to would you try to understand "_  
**('Elsewhere' / Sarah McLahlan)**

Gabriella woke up late Thursday afternoon with a smile on her face. She and her friends had stayed up until almost five in the morning talking with Kelsi before she had to leave the next morning. It had been one of the best nights Gabriella had had in a long time. She glanced over at the clock and realized it was almost three in the afternoon. She was lucky she didn't have to work that morning, but instantly felt bad for Zeke who must have only got two or three hours of sleep last night.

She got out of bed and pulled her robe close to her body. She looked around for Jake but figured he must have gone outside through the doggy door on the back porch. She leaned over to start the coffee machine, hoping to clear up some of her grogginess, before turning around and noticing the light flashing on her answering machine.

"Seventeen messages?" She said aloud before pushing the play button. Had she really been _that _out of it?

She listened as the first five messages played nothing but static. The sixth one was some telemarketer calling to sell kitchen supplies. The next eight also were nothing but static. She smiled as she heard the voice of her best friend on the next message.

"Brie, I know you're home. It's time to wake up. If I'm up and at-em then you need to be too. Brieeee. Wake up Brieee. Alright, well just call me when you get this."

Gabriella laughed each time Troy dragged out her name. She listened to the next message and burrowed her eyebrows when the next two messages played nothing but static. Who would call fifteen times and leave nothing but silence on the machine?

She jumped at the sound of the phone ringing and quickly made her way over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Gabriella, it's Adam."

"Oh, hi. How are you?"

"I'm good. Just on break from work. You?"

"Good I just woke up actually." She laughed into the phone.

"Really? It's three o'clock!" Adam chuckled.

"Yeah, we ended up staying really late night with Kelsi. It was a blast."

Adam paused for a moment. "Well, I'm glad you had fun. I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner tonight?"

"I thought you were going out of town tonight?"

"Oh, yeah. It got pushed back a day. So what do you say?"

Gabriella hesitated before answering. "I'm sorry, Adam. I can't. I have to work tonight. How about when you come back?"

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll be back Monday. I'll call you when I get back."

"Looking forward to it. Bye Adam."

"Goodbye."

Gabriella sighed and put the phone back on it's charger. She walked towards the door, deciding she should probably look for Jake. She opened the door and jumped back in surprise when she saw Troy walking up her porch steps with Jake on his heels.

"So Sleeping Beauty decided to grace the world with her presence?" Troy joked.

"Haha. You know I need at least eight hours of sleep a night."

"Trust me, I know. No one wants to cross you when you haven't." He said laughing.

"Hey now!" Gabriella said hitting him playfully on the arm.

"So, besides modeling bathrobes and slippers, what are your plans for the day?"

"Absolutely nothing. No work, not babysitting, no nothing."

"Wow. That's incredibly boring." He teased.

"Yeah, yeah. What have you got planned for the evening?"

"Well, there's a music festival down over at Santa Rosa and I was wondering if you'd want to join me?"

"Heck yeah I want to join you! Let me go shower first."

"Yes, please do." He joked. Deep down Troy didn't give a damn whether she showered or not. Standing in front of him in her bathrobe and slippers, her a mess and makeup smudged under her eyes, he knew she was still more beautiful than any person he had ever met.

"Man, maybe I won't go with you if you're gonna be like _that_." Gabriella said sticking out her tongue.

"C'mon now Brie. You know you're gorgeous. Besides, you can't resist a day out with your best friend. Now go shower and we'll go."

Gabriella blushed at his comment before stepping back inside and headed towards the shower.

* * *

Gabriella came home later that night to fifteen more blank messages. Shrugging it off, she called Troy and thanked him for a wonderful evening before settling down and going to bed.

She woke early the next morning, hoping to get into the shop a bit earlier than usual and do a cash drop.

She walked into the shop that morning and saw that Zeke was already there making pie crusts.

"Hey Zeke!" She said giving him a half-hug. "Good morning Gabs. How ya doing?"

"I'm good. It's going to be an amazing day!" She beamed making her way over to the cash register.

"Yeah, why's that?"

"I don't know. I just have a feeling."

"Well, if you say so." Zeke laughed as he placed the pie crust onto his famous apple pie and put it into the oven.

"Well, I do."

Troy sat in a wide armchair outside of Chad's office, waiting for his friend's lunch break. Chad had called him saying he was having a panic attack and pleaded with Troy to come in for lunch. Seeing as how he had absolutely nothing to but in the daytime but work out, Troy made his way down to the office.

"Hey Bolton." He looked up and saw Robby Jameson, a tall blonde haired man who played basketball with him back at East High.

"Hey Jameson. How's that little one of yours doing?" Troy asked as he shook his old teammate's hand.

"Getting bigger by the day. Just blows me away. When you headed off to California?"

"Still got a few months here to go. So what brings you here?" Troy said motioning to the office surrounding them. He knew very well that Robby worked in construction, and a lawyer's office probably wasn't his idea of a fun afternoon.

"Oh. Just filing with some case against the contracting company we're signed with. Worker's rights, stuff like that."

"Man that sucks. What are you guys working on?"

"We're repairing most of the bridges downtown. The work is good, the conditions aren't. I've already sent too many guys to the hospital in the last few weeks."

Troy nodded as Robby talked until something registered in his mind. "Wait a second. Do you work for Adam Bell?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Eh, yeah. Don't really know him, just acquainted if you know what I mean."

"Yeah. The guy's a real asshole." Robby said with disgust.

Troy nodded his head again before seeing Chad come out of his office. "Well hey man, I gotta go, but it was great seeing you. I hope everything works out with the case and such."

"Hey thanks. If I don't see you before you leave, kick some ass man. We're all proud of you."

"Thanks a lot. Take care of that little one."

They shook hands and Troy went over and met with Chad to help settle his latest crisis.

* * *

Gabriella wiped down the last few tables in the café before making her way back to the kitchen.

"Alright Zeke, I'm outta here. When you leaving?"

"Aarons comes in about an hour or so, so I'll take off when he gets here."

"Okay, cool. We need to sit down one day next week and talk about giving that boy a raise. We'd be in serious trouble if he wasn't here to help out."

"I agree. How about Wednesday? That way we can talk to him that night about it." Zeke said looking at the schedule on the wall.

"Yeah, that works for me. I'll see you later Zeke. Tell Shar and Aidan I say hello and I miss them."

"Alright. Will do. Have a great night Gabs."

"You too." Gabriella grabbed her hand bag before she made her way out of the store. She smiled as she saw Troy walking out of Chad's office down the road.

"Troy!" She called, catching his attention. He smiled and made his way over to her.

"Hey there. Just getting out of work?"

"Yeah. Just getting ready to head home. What are you doing in town?"

Troy contemplated for a few seconds about telling her what Robby had told him about Adam. It nerved him out a bit knowing Gabriella was dating this guy, and here Robby was saying how dangerous his work conditions were and how much of a jerk he was. "Well, I went to see Chad. He was having a freak out moment again about the baby."

"Again?"

"Yeah. He thinks he's going to be a terrible father. So I had to pull the best friend card and reassure him that he's going to do just fine."

"Don't worry. I've had to comfort Taylor several times. I'm getting tired of the late night phone calls with her hyperventilating on the other side." They both laughed at this.

"It's definitely going to be a long couple of months."

"Tell me about it. So you want to come over tonight? I was thinking about renting a movie off pay-per-view and order a pizza or something. You in?"

"How can I say no to that?" He chuckled. "Let me go home and I'll come over around six. Sound good?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in little less than two hours then. Bye Troy."

"Bye Brie. See you soon. "

* * *

Troy and Gabriella sat on the couch eating the last few slices of pizza, completely ignoring the movie they had rented. They had been engulfed in conversation for the last few hours, laughing and carrying on about their friends, families, and life itself. Gabriella caught herself several times holding Troy's gaze longer, and other times she was distracted by the rippling muscles in his arms. She shrugged it off each time, telling herself checking out her best friend was weird.

"I'm not even lying, Brie. Sharpay really tried to have 'Pink Week' when we were sophomores. She was mad that the basketball team got an entire week of pep rallies and stuff like that leading to up to the winter Homecoming game that she decided the Winter Musical deserved one as well."

"But why pink?"

"They were doing _Grease. _I guess she related it to the Pink Ladies? Who knows? It's Sharpay. I'll never ask how her mind works."

"Yeah, that definitely sounds like something she would do though. I still can't believe how hard she worked to ruin our auditions Junior year."

"Yeah, at least Zeke has mellowed her a bit. I doubt we'd all be as close if he hadn't." Troy said, pausing for a second. "Hey, I'm going to go get a drink, you want anything?" He pushed himself off the couch and turned to wait for her response.

"Uh, just a glass of water."

"Alright, be back in just a second."

Gabriella smiled and leaned back further into the couch as she waited for Troy to come back. She heard a loud noise and jumped up in surprise when she heard Troy yell.

"Brie!"

She quickly ran into the quickly and her eyes went wide at the scene in front of her. Water was spraying everyone as Troy tried to twist the handle on the faucet to off with one hand and hold the end of the faucet with the other.

"Troy what happened?" She asked as she walked over trying to help, getting completely soaked in the process.

"I don't know! The end of the faucet just popped off. I can't get it to turn off!"

Gabriella thought quickly before running out of the room and coming back with a wrench. "Keep holding the faucet!" She ordered before getting on her hands and knees and trying to turn off the water through the pipes. After several attempts, she crawled back out from under the sink.

"Okay, so that's not working. I'm going downstairs to turn the water off. Just – uh – hang on!"

She ran down the stairs and quickly turned off the water. She hurried back up the stairs to see Troy standing at the sink, completely soaked. The water wasn't spraying everywhere anymore, but looking around her kitchen Gabriella could see that everything in her kitchen had been touched by the water.

Before she could say anything she burst out in laughter. She wasn't sure what exactly was so funny, but before long Troy joined in too. They laughed like that for several minutes, Gabriella wiping away either tears or water that had sprayed on her face.

She composed herself and looked up at Troy smiling back over at her and her breath hitched. She wasn't exactly sure what it was that did it - the chaos around her, the fact that her kitchen was soaked, the lack of air from all the laughter, or the way Troy's wet shirt clung to his body in all the right places - but something just clicked.

She pulled her shirt down and looked up and began to walk across the kitchen to where he was standing.

"Brie, are you-"

He was cut off by her lips crashing onto his, her arms snaking behind his neck pulling him closer.

Troy stood for several moments completely stunned before returning the kiss. He felt Gabriella's tongue graze his lip and he opened his mouth to grant her access.

They stood there for several minutes kissing each other hungrily before they both parted for air.

"Brie, what, why. uh." Troy stammered, breathing heavily. "That was am-"

He was cut off again by Gabriella putting her hands at the bottom of his t shirt and pulling it up over his body. She tossed into the sink before pulling back down to kiss her.

Troy placed his arms around her back, hoisting her up so that her legs were around his back. He took a few steps forward, securing Gabriella against the kitchen wall and began kissing up and down her neckline.

Gabriella let out a moan and tightened her grip on Troy's back. "Troy." She managed to breathe out. "The bedroom."

Troy didn't need to be told twice as he picked her back off of the wall and carried her down the hallway.

* * *

_**alrighty, there you are. like i said before, i'll be updating more regularily now. school's out for summer, the wedding's all said and done and i have nothing else to do but write. plus, i just got a brand new laptop :)**_


	8. I Caught Fire In Your Eyes

**The Guardian**

_"Seemed to stop my breath  
My head on your chest  
Waiting to cave in  
From the bottom of my  
Hear your voice again  
Could we dim the sun  
And wonder where we've been  
Maybe you and me  
So kiss me like you did  
My heart stopped beating  
Such a softer sin_

I'm melting, Im melting  
In your eyes  
I lost my place  
Come stay a while"  
**('i Caught Fire' / The Used)**

Gabriella woke early the next morning and burrowed her eyebrows at the feeling of dead weight on her stomach.

"Jake, up." She said groggily before turning over onto her side. She quickly realized that the weight on her stomach was Troy's arm, and she smiled as last night's events flooded her memory. She propped her headed up with her arm and looked over her best friend. She noticed her stomach filled with butterflies as she gazed over his bare sculpted abs and chest, leading up to his adorable face. Now _this,_ she thought to herself, is how it's supposed to feel.

She hoisted herself up so that she was leaning over him and bent down to kiss his lips. She could see that he was fighting the layers of sleep so she kissed his lips again before moving over and whispering in his ear.

"Troy. Wake up."

Troy's eyes opened, blinking a few times, before adjusting to the light. He smiled when he saw Gabriella, who was now practically sitting on top of him.

"Hi." She said sweetly.

"Good morning beautiful. "

The grin across Gabriella's face grew wider. "How did you sleep?"

Troy stretched his arms out and yawned. "I slept damn good. You?"

"I slept well. You make a good pillow you know that?"

He laughed at her comment. "No, I didn't know that actually. I'm glad you think so."

Gabriella smiled and thought about how amazing it was that here she and Troy sat carrying on as if this was how it always was. There was no crazy morning awkwardness, and thousands of questions and thoughts roaming through her mind on what to say or how to act. It was what it was- an amazing sense of comfort that she had been wishing for for years.

"I do. You have any big plans for today?"

Troy slid his body so that he was now sitting up, and hoisted Gabriella so that she was still sitting on him, now just on his lap. "Oh I don't know. I was thinking about saving the world. Rescue small children. Feed the homeless. You know, my usual."  
  
"Wow." Gabriella said giggling. "That's so noble of you. Here I was thinking about having a picnic in the park. Just with normal people and such. I know that's beneath you but you're welcome to join me if you'd like."

"Oh, I don't know." Troy continued to tease. "You know those average people. I just don't fit in with them, but I guess I can suffer through one day."

They both broke out into laughter.

"So what park where you thinking?"

"McAdams, just down the street. Unfortunately, I have to work this evening."

"Okay, that works. We can just grab some food on the way."

"Awesome. I'm going to go jump in the shower." Gabriella wiggled her way off of him, wrapping the sheets around her as she did so and made her way to the bathroom.

"You seriously aren't leaving me here alone are you?" Troy pouted as she walked away.

Gabriella stopped and turned around to face him, a playful look in her eyes. "Well, honey, I just thought you were smarter than that." She winked at him before turning back around and walking into the bathroom.

Troy laughed before getting out of the bed and following her.

* * *

Troy and Gabriella lay on a blanket underneath a large oak tree watching as people went on with their days around them.

"Can I ask you something?" Troy said breaking the silence.

Gabriella turned on her side and looked up at him. "Anything."

"What happened yesterday? I mean one minute we're fixing a broken pipe and the next we're making out in your kitchen. I'm not complaining. Believe me, I'm not." He held up his hands as if he was defending himself. "But what happened?"

Gabriella looked away for a moment trying to find an answer for him. After several moments she looked back and met his gaze. "I don't really know actually." She paused again. "You remember when I worked at that coffee shop in college?" He nodded to her question. "Well it's kinda like that. I worked there for months before I had any idea what I was doing. I was sitting in a puddle of milks, teas, coffees and had no idea what I was doing, and then one it just clicked and everything made sense."

Troy looked at her skeptically, not really understanding what she meant.

Gabriella sat up and looked down. "Okay, it's like this. For years, even before Matthew, I've been searching for all these components of what I want to make my life happy. The café is part, and Matthew was too. It still kills me to have lost him, but I realized now that maybe God was trying to tell me something. Matthew had only one of those things I needed in life to make it whole. So here I am, wandering around trying to make my life everything I want it to be. Every day I look at my best of friends and sit and evaluate what I need to do to get the happiness they have. And then yesterday, I looked up at you completely soaked from that damn pipe and my heart almost stopped. It was like everything suddenly clicked and I realized what exactly I needed to make my life complete. It's you Troy. You're it. I guess that's the only way I can explain it."

She lifted her eyes again and saw a wide grin on Troy's face. "What?"

"It's about time you figured it out. I was starting to think I was going to have to wait forever on you Brie."

Gabriella's cheeks blushed and she leaned forward and softly kissed his lips.

"So what does that make us?" She asked sweetly as she pulled away.

"Well," Troy said "Whatever you want us to be."

"I like that." Gabriella said grinning and leaned in to kiss him again.

* * *

Gabriella waved goodbye to Troy before stepping into the café to begin her shift.

"What put the bounce in your step?" Zeke asked from behind the counter. From the moment Gabriella had stepped foot in the door he had noticed something was different about her. Hell, anyone could notice something was up.

"Nothing." She said grinning.

"Okay, seriously?" He said chuckling. "You're grinning like a fool. Did you have another date with Adam or something?"

"No." Gabriella said- the grin still apparent on her face. She had thought about playing with him for a little while longer but the confusion apparent on Zeke's brow was too much. "But I did have one with Troy."

Zeke's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Details. Now."

Gabriella giggled before propping herself up on the counter as Zeke prepped the ovens for the dinner rush and began her story.

* * *

"You did what?" Chad said shooting the basketball ten feet in the wrong direction of the hoop.

"Chad, it's not a big deal." Troy said putting up the ball and hearing a quick_ swish._

"Not a big deal? Not a big deal?! You have been pining over Gabriella since we were sixteen. Do not tell me this is no big deal."

"I did not pine."

"Dude, do you know how many times I watched you mope around after Gabriella had found yet another boyfriend. And let's not get me started on all the times we caught you lost in some daydream. And then-"

"Chad, can't you at least be happy for me?" Troy asked tucking the ball under his arms and turning to face his best friend.

"Man, I'm so happy for you. I was almost starting to believe it wouldn't happen."

"Wow, thanks for the confidence."

"No, you know what I mean. So what about Adam?" Chad asked.

"What about him?" Troy said nonchalantly as he tossed the ball up in the air.

"Did you and Brie talk about this at all?"

"Uh, no." Troy glanced down at his watch. "Hey, look I got to get going. I'm supposed to grab some things from my house before meeting Brie back at the shop."

"Are you staying there again?" Chad asked his eyes growing wide.

"That's what she said." Troy said proudly. "What can I say? I'm quite the charmer."

"Geez, the guy spends one day with her and he thinks he's King."

"Oh shove it. I got to go. We'll chat later, okay? I promise I'll give you the details."

"Thanks man. You know I have a nosy wife who demands it."

Troy laughed before waving at his friend and jogged away from the court.

* * *

"So, uh, what are you going to do about Adam?" Zeke asked as he counted down the cash for that evening.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella looked up from her records book to meet her friend and partner's gaze.

"Well, weren't you two, like, dating?"

"Nah, we just went on a few dates. It really wasn't anything serious. I wasn't planning on marrying the guy or anything."

Zeke nodded before responding. "Yeah, I just don't think he's going to be happy about it."

Gabriella thought about that for a moment. "Well, I guess I'll face that when it comes. I'm glad this all happened, and I wouldn't change a thing." She smiled. "Is this how you are around Sharpay?"

"Eh, most days." He said causing them both to laugh. Their thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing at the front desk.

"Got it." Gabriella said, closing her book and walked over to the phone and answered. "Hello, this is Gabriella."

"Gabriella, its Adam. How are you?" The voice on the phone made Gabriella's eyes bulge and she looked nervously over at Zeke.

"Hey Adam. I'm good. How did you get this number?"

"I just looked it up in the phone book. I promise I'm not some creepy stalker." He chuckled on the other end of the line.

Gabriella tried to muster up a laugh. "So what's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to check in on you. See how things were going. You want to do dinner Monday at my place? I know you've never been there before but I thought it would be nice. You could even stay if you'd like." He said in a suggestive tone that made Gabriella shudder.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea Adam."

"Oh, well how about Tuesday? I think I'm free Tuesday."

"No, I don't it's ever a good idea Adam. Look you're a great guy-"

"Hey Brie. I got to go, work to do. But we'll talk when I get back. How's that sound? Okay good, I love you."

"Uh..." Gabriella heard the line click over and sighed. _I love you?_ Where did that come from? She looked over at Zeke who was now fully intrigued in what was going on. Gabriella realized he was right about something; Adam was definitely not going to handle this well.

* * *

_please review. please, please, please? it would make me most happy :)_


	9. Hands Down

**The Guardian**

_Hands down this is the best day I can ever remember,  
I'll always remember the sound of the stereo,  
the dim of the soft lights,  
the scent of your hair that you twirled in your fingers  
and the time on the clock when we realized it's so late  
and this walk that we shared together._

**('Hands Down' / Dashboard Confessional)**

Gabriella looked herself up and down in the mirror, scrunching up her face in disgust. Her legs weren't as muscular as they were five years ago, and she could see where she was filling out "as a woman", or however her mother described it, in different areas on her body. She hadn't properly cared for her hair in months, and her hands and feet could probably use some pampering.

Nervously, she glanced over at the clock. Troy would be there in a little over an hour to pick her up for their first official date. And it scared the life out of her.

She had been a nervous wreck since she woke up that morning, knowing that come six thirty, Troy would be standing outside of her house and come and sweep her off her feet. When did all of this even happen? She had known him since she was sixteen years old. Eight long years of laughter, tears, struggles, victories, and pure friendship. And now they were going on a date.

_He's going to realize how big of a mistake this is._ She thought to herself as she turned and looked at her backside in the mirror. _A HUGE mistake. _

She sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands and started crying. The date hadn't even started yet, and it was already a disaster.

She looked up when she felt something wet nuzzling her side, and looked up to see Jake staring at her with big eyes as if saying, _"C'mon, you can do this!"_

"Sorry boy. I don't think this is one you can help me with." She said scratching his back. Jake scooted back and walked out of the room and came back with the phone in his mouth, dropping it in her lap.

Gabriella picked up the phone, wiped it off, and looked at him. Quickly, she dialed the number of the first person that came to mind.

"Hello?" the crisp, high voice answered.

"Shar?" Gabriella said weakly.

"Gabriella? What's wrong?" Sharpay asked.

"He's going to be here in an hour." She replied in a small voice.

Gabriella heard a sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, sweetie, I know. We talked about this yesterday."

"Shar, I'm freaking out. I mean, this is _Troy_ we're talking about. I just want everything to be perfect."

"And it's going to be, Gabriella. You know it will be."

"And what if he decides it was a stupid idea. What if he just wants to be friends?"

Sharpay hesitated before answering. She knew Gabriella was seriously freaking out on this one. The tone in her voice said it all. Why, she had no idea. But Sharpay knew that her friend needed her now.

"Okay, we both know _that_ won't happen. The boy has been in love with you since he was pubescent." Sharpay saying, trying to build some confidence in the girl on the other end of the phone. "What did you decide on wearing?"

Gabriella broke out into sobs on the other end of the line. "I don't know Sharpay. I'm sitting here in my bra and underwear!"

"Oh, Lord help me." Sharpay said with wide eyes. "Gabs, I'll be there in ten, and I'll grab Tay on the way. Just, uh, don't move!"

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Gabriella's hair was fixed, her teeth were clean, her make-up had been applied and a classic rusty colored sun dress had been picked out for her to wear. As she was slipping on the dress and putting on her shoes she realized she would be lost in this world if it weren't for her two best girlfriends.

She walked back out to her bedroom where Taylor and Sharpay were sitting on her bed and twirled in a circle, receiving applause from the both of them.

"I think we did a good job, don't cha think Tay?" Sharpay asked looking over at the dark skinned girl.

"We definitely make a good team." She laughed.

"So I look okay?" Gabriella's nervous voice interrupted their power trip.

"Gabs. You always look 'okay.'" Taylor said walking over to her friend and putting her arm around her. "But tonight you look absolutely stunning. Troy's not gonna know what hit him."

"Well, as long as-"

Gabriella was cut off by her door bell ringing. All three girls looked at the clock on the bed stand.

"Damn, he's actually early." Sharpay said dramatically.

"Well, it's not like he's been waiting eight years for this." Taylor whispered to Sharpay who giggled.

"I'm gonna go get the door." Sharpay said pushing herself off of the bed, followed by Taylor.

"And then we're leaving, okay Gabs?" Taylor looked her friend square in the eye.

Gabriella simply nodded. The butterflies in her stomach were too overwhelming for her to speak.

"Have fun babe." Sharpay leaned down and hugged her friend, before both girls walked out into the small living room. Sharpay headed straight for the door. "Troy!"

The boy both girls had known since they were in preschool gave them a curious look. "Sharpay, Taylor. I, uh, I'm here for Brie."

"Duh." Taylor said to him. "She'll be out in a few moments. We were just leaving, right Shar?"

The blond nodded at him, and giggled a little at her friend next to her. They both inched past Troy out the door and walked down the steps of the front porch.

"Have fun tonight Troy. Make sure Gabriella does too." Taylor said and the girls walked off.

"Oh, and Troy?" Sharpay asked turning around to face him again. "Tell Gabs I don't want any more phone calls from her in her underwear. I think you can handle those situations from here on out, okay?"

"Uh.." Troy's eyes grew wide and stared at the two girls who broke out into fits of laughter. He watched as Sharpay turned her car around and stuck her left hand out the window and waved. "Toodles!"

He heard the door close behind him and turned to see Gabriella standing on the front porch looking as beautiful as ever. "I really don't know why you're friends with them."

Gabriella laughed sweetly. "Hey, if they hadn't come over I'd probably wouldn't have ever gotten dressed today."

Sharpay's words registered in Troy's mind and he gave her a mischievous smile. "Like I said, I don't know why you're friends with them."

Gabriella erupted in laughter, all her nerves and fear swept away with it. "You're horrible!" She took a step forward and laced her hands with his and pulled him down the steps of the porch. "Let's get going."

Troy slightly pulled on the hand she was tugging at, forcing her to come his way. "What's the rush?" He said leaning down and kissing her briefly on the lips. "I haven't even gotten the chance to tell you how gorgeous you look tonight."

Gabriella smiled, blushing slightly, and looked away. Troy took his free hand and lifted her chin, planting another kiss on her lips, lingering there for a few moments.

"Okay, now I'm ready to go."

* * *

Gabriella looked out at the mountains that surrounded them. It was such a perfect night, and she couldn't think of a more beautiful place she'd ever been.

She and Troy had settled on a small restaurant in the city, and sat out on the patio as it was such a nice night. A band played on a small pseudo stage that had been set up to their left, filling the air with sweet melodies as they carried on through their dinner.

As they finished their dinner, Gabriella couldn't help but feel sad that their night was coming closer to an end. It seemed it was just a few moments ago she was having her panic attack with Sharpay and Taylor.

"Brie?" A voice said interrupting her thoughts. She looked up and saw Troy looking at her with a sparkle in his cobalt blue eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Come with me." He said holding out her hand. She took it, and looked at him skeptically. He weaved her in and out of tables and stood in a small space directly in front of the band.

"Stay here for just a second." He said letting go of her hand and walked over to the band, and talked to the guitar player off to the right side of the stage. They both looked back at her, and she sheepishly smiled back. A few moments later Troy walked back and held out his hand.

"May I have this dance?"

Gabriella looked around at the tables around them. By that point in time, they had already gained the attention of the people from the nearby tables. She looked back at Troy and he looked so darn cute that she couldn't resist.

"Why of course you can." She said taking his hand. She listened as the band began to play "Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz.

"Troy, I love this song!"

"I know you do. That's why I asked them to play it."

She smiled at him, and stepped closer to him. She kept her arms wrapped close around his neck as the two continued to sway to the soft melody. Yes, tonight was definitely perfect.

* * *

Troy pulled his truck into Gabriella's driveway and put it into park. They both laughed at the sight of Jake standing on the front porch, as if he had been waiting there since they had left.

"I think he's a little sad he didn't get to go." Gabriella said giggling.

"Well, we'll be sure to bring him along next time." Troy laughed along and stepped out of the car. He walked over to her side and opened the door. "That dog is crazy."

"Yeah, but I love him." Gabriella responded as she stepped down from the truck.

"Me too." Troy said, and paused for a moment as they reached her porch. "I had a great time tonight Brie. Like really great time."

"I did too." Gabriella smiled up at him.

"Well," Troy said awkwardly. "Goodnight Brie."

He started to lean down to kiss her goodnight, but Gabriella interrupted him.

"You're not coming inside?"

Troy leaned back and looked at her. Her eyes were twinkling and she looked so blissfully happy. "Only if you want me to."

"Well then, you're coming inside. You make a great pillow." She said taking his hand and opening the door.

Troy laughed at her. "Oh great, I'll put that on my next resume."

"You know you love it."

"I didn't deny it."

* * *

"Seriously, you guys haven't gotten sick of each other yet?" Zeke asked Troy and Gabriella the next morning. He and Gabriella were both getting ready for the morning rush, while Troy was sitting at the counter with a glass of milk and a plate of blueberry pancakes. "You've been together for days."

"C'mon Zeke." Gabriella said. "You and Sharpay see each other everyday. You don't get sick of each other."

"We're married. And yes, we do get sick of each other, Gabs. I'm just saying, things have to be going well."

Gabriella just smiled at him, while Troy washed down a mouthful of food. "I don't know what either of you are talking about. I'm just here for the pancakes."

Gabriella scoffed and playfully hit his arm. "Troy!"

Zeke also laughed. "So that's what you've been doing all these years. You just really liked my pancakes? Here I thought you were here to see a certain someone."

It was Troy's turn to blush, and he quickly looked down at his plate before either of them could catch it. They of course did, and both laughed at it.

Gabriella looked at the clocked, her face getting a bit more serious and looked back at Troy. "You have to leave at eleven?"

Troy nodded his head. "Yeah, the plane leaves at twelve thirty. But I need to go check in and stuff."

"Where you off to this time?" Zeke asked.

"California. I have a conference tonight, and we're doing pictures or something tomorrow." Troy said through another mouthful of pancakes. "I'll be back tomorrow in the afternoon something though."

"Gotcha." Zeke said simply. He could see Gabriella was already having a rough time with Troy leaving again.

"I'd better get going though." Troy said stepping off of the stool he was sitting on and turned to face Gabriella. "I'll call you later on tonight once we've finished the press conference."

"Okay." Gabriella said as she leaned in and accepted his kiss. Troy gave her a sad smile and walked towards the door.

"Hey Troy!" Gabriella called after him. He turned and looked at her, raising his eyebrows in response. "I love you." She said timidly.

Troy's face broke out into a wide smile. "I love you too."

* * *

"I'm happy for you Gabs." Zeke said hours later as he piled trays of dirty dishes into the tub on the back counter. "I think we're all happy for you guys."

"It just seems so right, doesn't it?" She asked, wiping off the counter.

"It always did."

"Good, 'cause I seriously can't stop smiling!" She said with a laugh, causing Zeke to laugh with her.

"Sorry I'm late guys." They both heard a voice from the back of the room. They both turned and saw Ally Grader, one of their waitresses, walking in through the back door.

Ally had worked at the café for almost a year now and had never really been the greatest of workers. She was usually late, and only did what was asked of her. She was never one to take an initiative and help out for the benefit of the shop. She was actually two or three years older than Zeke and Gabriella, but they both knew she needed the job and didn't care that her bosses were younger than her.

"It's fine Ally." Gabriella said to the girl.

"Had a bit of a late night." Ally said in a suggestive tone and wiggled her eyebrows at them. This was Gabriella's biggest problem with Ally. She was definitely a cute girl. She had fiery red hair and was several inches taller than Gabriella. But Ally had a thing for rougher guys, and numerous times they would come to the café to see her. It wasn't that Gabriella didn't want their business, it was just that they always seemed to be drunk and pass comments at Ally and other people that worked there. Ally herself had come in a few times on a hangover or just flat out drunk, and Gabriella had had to send her home another couple of times because she was sick for either of those two reasons.

"Okay, well. Will you cover the front for a while? It shouldn't be too busy."

"No problem sugar." Ally said smacking her lips together and strutting out into the café. Gabriella let out a large sigh and looked up at Zeke who instantly put his hands up in defense.

"Don't give me that look. If it were up to me, she'd have already been gone."

"I know Zeke. That's because she called Sharpay a Barbie." Gabriella said holding back a laugh.

"No, I just don't think she has the right attitude for this place." He said as he sprayed off a few of the dishes in the sink.

"I know, I know. I just feel like sometimes we're the only good she has in her life."

"You're too sweet Gabriella. You're right, but God bless you for having such a big heart."

They both paused for a moment as they heard Ally laughing flirtatiously up in the front.

"'Sugar' must be the word of the week." Gabriella said sarcastically.

"No kidding."

"I think I'm gonna head home. I'm tired." Gabriella said letting out a yawn.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't stay up all night with the superstar and you wouldn't be so tired." Zeke said giving her a wink.

Gabriella didn't respond but simply smiled at him and grabbed her purse. "I'll see you tomorrow Zeke."

* * *

Gabriella lay bundled in her blankets on the couch and flipped through the channels on her TV. It had been a matter of days since her and Troy got together and she was already bored without him.

She saw lights flash through her front windows and Jake jumped off the couch and ran towards the front door, growling at it as if it were a rabbit or something. Gabriella jumped when she heard someone knock on the door. She glanced at the clock and wondered who could possibly be here this late. She unbundled herself from the blankets and grabbed her long sweater on the back of chair as she headed towards the door. She pulled the sweater on quickly and opened the front door to reveal Adam standing there with a bouquet of flowers.

"Adam, hi." Gabriella said awkwardly."What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you." He said handing her the flowers. "I'm sorry they're not as fresh as they could be. I picked them up at the airport."

Jake growled again letting Adam know he was there, and that he was, in fact, not happy about him being there.

"I don't think he'll ever like me." Adam joked.

"Adam, it's past eleven. What are you doing here?" Gabriella repeated.

"I told you. I wanted to see you. I know it's late, but my flight came in a bit late. I tried calling you earlier, but you must not have been in."

"I was working."

"Oh, well that makes sense. I think I called you a couple days ago too. But I left a message."

"Yeah, I got it." She responded flatly. "I was out with a friend."

"Oh yeah?" Adam asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, I was out with Troy. You remember him? I haven't been able to see him much lately so it was nice to have some time with him." She responded. She didn't want to make this any worse than it needed to be.

"Oh yeah, I remember him. The Lakers player. You mind if I come in for a little bit?"

Gabriella let out a sigh. She really didn't want to do this now. All she wanted to do was to talk to Troy and then go to bed. "Actually, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Oh, okay." He said not catching her drift. "I know it's really late. How 'bout we do dinner tomorrow? Somewhere nice in the city?"

Gabriella shifted her body uncomfortable and averted her gaze. She really, really hated doing this. Adam was, after all, a nice guy. He just wasn't Troy.

"Um, well I can't. I already have plans."

"With Troy?" He said with a cold voice.

"Yes, with Troy."

"So does that mean we're done then? That's it for us?" He said in a slightly louder voice.

"I'm sorry Adam." Gabriella said in a weak voice. "I really am."

"Did I do something wrong? Gabriella what did I do?" He pleaded.

Instead of responding, Gabriella kept her eyes casted downwards.

"Did you not have fun? Didn't you enjoy our dates?"

"Yes. I enjoyed them."

"Then why are you doing this?"

Gabriella finally lifted her gaze to meet his. "Look, Adam. It's not you, or about what we did. This is about me and Troy, and I, just, I can't explain it."

She watched as his eyes turned from soft and desperate to cold and angry. "Wow. Seems like you had a fun couple of days while I was away."

"Adam, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" He hissed at her. "Sorry that you used me?"

"Excuse me?" Gabriella said in a slightly distressed voice.

"That's all I was to you huh? You just needed me to make Troy jealous. Well guess what Gabriella, people have feelings. **I **have feelings."

"I didn't use you Adam. Really, I didn't."

"No. You're just throwing what he had to the wind even though we're still getting to know each other. But then there's Troy who you've known for years and years and all of the sudden he's extremely interesting to you. Seems like you had this all planned Gabriella."

"Okay, that isn't fair. I think it's time you leave Adam. This conversation has gone far enough." She said and turned slowly towards the door.

The next few minutes passed by in slow motion for her. Her eyes watched in shock as Jake leaped from behind her towards Adam. She followed his body and watched as his mouth clasped onto Adam's outstretched hand, who in response howled in pain.

"Jake!" Gabriella screamed! "Jake, get off of him!"

"Stop him!" Adam cried out. "Gabriella, do something!"

"Jake, let go now!" She screamed in a stern voice.

Jake, at the sound of her voice, let go. Gabriella grabbed his collar and pulled him back. Looking back up at Adam she watched as he cradled his hand to his chest.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm sorry." He said winded. "I shouldn't have grabbed for you. I was trying to stop you."

"It's fine. You sure you're okay?"

Adam stretched out his hand. Despite a few teeth marks, his hand looked fine. "I'm sorry Gabriella. It's just that it's been such a rough week. And I wanted to see you. I need someone to talk to. And you were the only person I could think of."

"It's fine. I understand." She looked at him and from the dim light from the porch she swore she saw his eyes watering up.

"No, you don't." He said in a sad voice. "Gabriella, my mother died this week. That's why I was away. I was at her funeral."

* * *

please review :)


	10. Covered in Rain

**THE GUARDIAN**

_"And now we're people watching  
All the people, people watching us right back  
Standing by the missing signs  
At the CVS, by the checkout line  
She puts her quiet hands in mine,  
Cause she's the brightest thing I've got  
When I'm covered in rain"_

**( 'Covered in Rain' / John Mayer ) **

Gabriella sat uncomfortably on her couch as she listened to Adam go on and on about his mother. After he had admitted his real reason for absence, she could help but feel sorry for him. She had always tried to be a good person, and even if things weren't going to work out between them, she could still be a good friend and listen.

"It's just so hard." He sobbed out. "I hadn't even seen her in years. After me and dad's argument, we lost contact with each other. It killed me see her like that."

She gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew how hard it was to go to the funeral of someone close to you. She had gone to her father's when she was just a little girl. And then Matthew's funeral as well. It could be a bit of a shock to see people who were once so bright and lively lying completely still in a casket.

Adam continued to tell her the details of his trip, from where he stayed, to who was at the funeral.

"Adam," she softly interrupted. He stopped and looked over at her. "Why did you lie? You could have told me you were going to your mother's funeral."

Adam stared blankly at her for a few moments before respond. "It's just that things were going so well. I guess I thought that by telling you it would have made things so much more serious. We were having fun, and using the business trip excuse seemed the best route. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Gabriella responded sincerely. "I just hate that you felt like you had to lie. Especially about something so hard on you. Even how things worked out, I'd still like to be your friend."

Adam nodded. "Thank you for that."

She smiled, but was cut off from responding by the sound of her phone ringing. "Excuse me a moment."

She stood up off the couch and walked back to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her, before picking the phone up off the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hey you." Gabriella immediately relaxed at the sound of the voice on the phone.

"Hey. How'd the conference go?"

"Oh, you know. _Troy, what assets do you expect to bring to the team next year?_" He responded, trying his best to imitate the reporters' voices.

Gabriella laughed."I don't think I could even imagine being in that situation. It's just incredible to me. You're actually going to be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers."

"Brie, we've known this since the draft last June. It's kind of the whole point of the draft." Troy teased. "To send me off to play for a pro team."

"Oh shut it. I'm just really proud of you."

"Well, thank you. And it's a good feeling to have you proud of me." Troy said, seriousness taking over his voice.

"There's going to be hundreds of girls across the country with Troy Bolton's poster on their wall and it's good that _I'm_ proud of you." Gabriella sarcastically remarked.

"Well, I'd like to think you're just a little bit more important than the hundreds of girls out there."

"Just a little?"

"Yeah. Just a smidgen." He responded causing them both to laugh. "Seriously though, tell me about your day."

Gabriella suddenly stood straighten. Here she was carrying on having totally forgotten that Adam was even out in her living room.

"Troy, Adam's here." She said quickly, wincing as she waited for his response. After waiting several moments and not getting one, she continued. "He stopped by after returning home from his trip. I told him I didn't want to see him anymore, and he freaked. He tried to stop me as I was walking back inside and Jake attacked him."

"I always knew he was a smart dog." Troy interrupted with a flat voice.

"So then he tells me his mother died. That's why he was gone. And now he's blubbering on like an idiot on my couch and I can't get him to leave Troy. I'm starting to get really uncomfortable and I don't know what to do. He's a sobbing mess."

"You want me to fly home?" Troy suggesting causing her to smile. She had always loved Troy's chivalrous side. Troy, on the other hand, wanted to kick something. This wasn't the first time Gabriella's genuine personalty had gotten her into trouble.

"No, I think I'm just going to tell him I want to sleep and he needs to leave." She said firmly.

"Are you sure? I can always call Chad."

"I think I'll be okay. But thank you. I've got Jake with me, and I know he won't mess with me while he's around. You're flying home tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, flight leaves at one. Miss me already?"

"Is that bad?" Gabriella tried to sound innocent. She couldn't help that in the last week she had become really used to Troy being around.

"Nah. I miss you too Brie. Please call me if anything happens."

"I will. Love you."

On the other end of the phone, Troy smiled. "Love you too."

Gabriella hung up the phone, placed it back in it's cradle, and carefully walked back out into the living room. At first, she had thought Adam had left, but frowned at the site of him fast asleep on the couch.

"Adam." She said quietly and tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Adam, wake up."

She contemplated calling Chad, remembering Troy's suggestion, but changed her mind after seeing it was well after one in the morning. For the second time that night, Gabriella's nice side took over, and she quietly walked back into her room. She knew he had to be exhausted from traveling, and more emotionally so from the funeral. What harm could he really do?

Securing herself and Jake in her bedroom, she locked the door and all the windows and crawled in bed. She would just have to make him leave in the morning.

* * *

The next morning Gabriella woke up earlier than usual. After thinking about it for quite some time the previous night, it bothered the hell out of her that Adam had so conveniently fallen asleep. It wasn't like she blamed him, she was just mad at the situation. It didn't send good messages to him or Troy on where she stood on either relationship. So she woke up adamant that Adam needed to leave.

But when she walked out into the living room, Adam was already gone. She walked throughout her small house, grabbing her broom as she passed though the kitchen, and found that he was no where in sight.

"Adam?" She called out. Making her way back into the living room, she peeked through the windows and saw that Adam's car was no longer parked in her driveway.

She sighed and put the broom back, feeling a little bit better about everything. It was then she noticed the note on the table.

_Gabriella, _

_I cannot thank you enough for your hospitality and kindness last night. I know it probably wasn't one of the most comfortable situations for you, but none the less, thank you. It's good to know there are people like you still out in this world. I want to wish you and Troy all the best in your relationship, and in life._

Adam

Gabriella smiled. Well, at least he got the hint. She crumpled the note and threw it in the trash bin next to the sink she would forever thank for bringing her any Troy together.

Knowing that Adam was gone, and nothing else needed tending to, she quickly showered and got ready for work. The faster her day went, the sooner she would be able to see Troy again.

* * *

Troy smiled as he watched Gabriella chat with some customers seated in a far corner booth.

"You know, I'd tell you that you had it bad, but we all already knew that." A voice interrupted his thoughts, and Troy turned to see Zeke standing in front of him at the counter.

"I wouldn't have denied it." Troy joked back.

"You're such a girl." Zeke said laughing. "Anyways, Chad and Taylor are on their way over. Apparently they've got big news."

"Baby news?"

"Who knows. Taylor just told me to call Sharpay and try to get everyone here."

As if on cue, Sharpay burst through the door with Aiden in her arms in her usual dramatic manner. "So I hear we have big news!" She exclaimed excitedly, causing a few customers to turn her way.

"Well, we're just waiting on Chad and Taylor sweetie." Zeke said walking over and greeting his wife with a kiss.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked as she approached the group.

"Chad and Taylor have something important to tell us." Troy explained.

"Oh, I hope the baby's okay." She responded.

"Taylor sounded excited. Although I think she was trying to hide it." Zeke told them before taking Aiden from Sharpay and bounced him up in the air., the little boy's laughter filling the café.

Gabriella excused herself from the group, having a few tables she needed to check on.

"Maybe she's having twins." Sharpay said excitedly. "Wouldn't that be the cutest thing?"

Troy opened his mouth to make a response, but another voice cut in.

"Hi Troy."

All three people in the group turned and saw Ally standing behind the counter.

"Uh, hi Ally." Troy said somewhat awkwardly. She was now leaning over the counter, her elbow resting on the edge giving them all a clear view down her shirt.

"Ally, I think there's a customer that needs tended to at table four." Zeke told her.

She stood up and looked over at the table. "Oh, right."

"Thanks man." Troy said as soon as Ally had cleared hearing distance.

"No problem. I'm about done with her games but Gabs doesn't want to fire her."

"We all know Gabriella's way too nice." Sharpay said making herself a part of the conversation.

"So true." Troy agreed.

"What's true?" Gabriella asked as she approached the group, having finished her rounds in the café.

Before any of them could respond, the bell above the door signaled and they all turned to see Taylor and Chad walking through it. For Troy, Gabriella, Zeke, and Sharpay the scene itself was interesting enough to ask what their news was.

Taylor was dressed simply in jeans and a dark blue blouse. Chad on the other hand, was decked out head to toe in a tan suit, brown dress shoes, and his once poofy hair was braided back into cornrows.

"So what do you think?" Chad asked spinning in a circle, similar to a girl who was showing off a new dress.

"Well, Chad." Troy started.

"Uh, uh, uh." Chad said. "That's Mr. Chad Christopher Danforth, Attorney at Law."

He was met with four pairs of very confused eyes.

"You guys, Chad passed the bar exam!" Taylor exclaimed.

They all paused a few more seconds as they allowed the information to sink in, and all at once did they break out into cheers of congratulations, Gabriella and Sharpay rushing up to embrace their friend.

A mixture of :_"No way!" "Chad, that's so awesome!""What?" "Wow! Congratulations!"_ filled the room.

"Yeah," Chad said smiling. "We just found out this afternoon."

"Man, that's so awesome." Troy said shaking his friend's hand. "If someone told me back in high school that years later you were the one who'd become the lawyer, I would've laughed my ass off."

"Wow. Thanks." Chad said sarcastically.

"Seriously," Troy said. "I'm proud of you dude."

* * *

Ally Graden couldn't remember a time in her life where she wasn't the center of attention, or the sought out prize. In elementary school, she broke the ice by being the first girl in their grade to have a boyfriend. In middle school, she was the girl who developed into her body before everyone else. By eighth grade, she was dating the senior quarterback of the football team. She knew what guys wanted, and she had no problem presenting it to them. Even after high school, it wasn't a rarity to have heads turn for a second look when she passed by. She had a hot body and she knew it.

When she was hired by Gabriella, she did it simply for a paycheck. She needed to pay her rent, and needed a steady cash flow to pay for her hair color and make up. She aimed to please, and to look as good as she did was not cheap.

So standing behind the counter watching as Gabriella laughed with her friends in the arms of hottie-hottie, future LA Lakers star Troy Bolton, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes. That should be Ally in Troy's arms. It was only right. What did he even see in Gabriella anyways?

* * *

Adam shifted his position, trying to get a better view. He could see her shadow through the blinds and smiled thinking she was more beautiful than anyone he'd ever met before. She was obviously at the kitchen sink - most likely doing the dishes. He had come to learn it wasn't unusual for Gabriella to do house work at this time of night. It was something he wasn't happy with – the nighttime was for other activities - but she'd learn that once they were back together.

He knew deep down it was only a matter of time before they would be together again – she just needed to see. For now he was fine with waiting.

He continued to watch her though the window, only taking his eyes off to rearrange his position in the tree. It was only after a male figure appeared in the blinds next to Gabriella that Adam's mood changed. He watched with a dark heart and narrow eyes as the figure leaned over and kissed Gabriella. _His _Gabriella. And then before he knew it, the light was out and she was gone.

* * *

_alright! there you go. i really hope that chaper wasn't a jumbled mess. let me know what's good, what's bad, etc._

_-swmBL_


	11. Every Breath You Take

**The Guardian**

_Every breath you take, every move you make  
Every bond you break, every step you take  
I'll be watching you_

_Every single day, every word you say  
Every game you play, every night you stay  
I'll be watching you_

_Oh, can't you see, you belong to me  
How my poor heart aches, with every step you take  
_**('Every Breath You Take' / The Police)**

Adam walked back into the house he was currently renting and slammed his car keys onto the table. Didn't she realize how much that upset him? Didn't she realize that _they _were supposed to be together, and this fling with Troy was tainting that?

He made his way up the stairs and to the room he had turned into a darkroom, and flashed on the dull light in the corner. He could see all the equipment around him, the chemicals and paper he used for developing. The lines above that he hung the pictures on to develop. But he wasn't looking for any of that, he wanted to see her. He wanted to see her with him. He needed to clear that image of the basketball idiot from his head.

He grabbed the container that held the pictures from their dates. She looked _so_ happy there. Looking at the pictures, he knew that she _was_ happy in them, and had wanted to be there with him.

He would just have to forgive her. He knew that she and Troy had been best friends for years, and maybe with his leaving she felt like she needed to get this little affair out of her system. And that was understandable. He would just have to show her how much it hurt him once Troy was completely out of the picture.

It wasn't exactly hard to learn about Gabriella in this small town. People talked, and Gabriella was obviously something to talk about. Gabriella herself had told him that she moved around a lot. It was after she moved to Albuquerque that she decided she wanted to stay. Adam still couldn't figure that part out. Why in God's name would she want to stay in a place like this? She was extraordinary, and deserved to live somewhere exotic or cultured. Somewhere classy, like her.

The next thing that puzzled him was Matthew. Adam knew that everyone made mistakes; even he had made a few in his life. But everything he had heard about Matthew Stevenson was nothing he would picture Gabriella with. He was your average college frat boy- clearly attractive but that's about it. What was it about him that actually attracted Gabriella?

Gabriella was hard to figure out, which is why Adam loved her so much. He knew they had had similar childhoods – hers spent traveling around the country, going from school to school until she finally settled in this place, and his spent from one military base to the next, afraid what kind of mood his father would come home in.

Singing must have been her escape. He heard her sing that night at the bar, and he was mesmerized by the sweet sound coming from within her. He also had an escape.

He had been at the library. His father had had another bad day, and he needed a place to hide. He spent the next four hours lost in the different photo books. Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, and so many others. The photos reassured him that there were better places out there, and he just had to go and find them.

His parents caught on, and for his birthday that year they gave him a small camera and a few boxes of film. It was the best day he could ever remember having with his parents. And so for the next few months, Adam took pictures of everything. He would have them developed and sit and analyze what worked and what didn't.

And then that fateful day came. The one that changed _everything_. His father came home from the base, and apparently had had another bad day. Adam could remember him screaming about the repercussions of Vietnam, or something like that, to this very day. His father had been drunk, and was screaming at the TV down the hall. Adam had wanted to 'document' the event, it was the technique he was currently studying with his camera, and his father flipped. He stormed out of the room and came back moments later with a hammer, and smashed the camera to bits.

Adam's father died later that year. He could remember the police and the coroner showing up late in the afternoon and the sound of his mother's incessant wailing echoing off the walls. He remembered all the questions they asked. No one knew how it could have happened.

And here's what happened. Frank had been discharged two months prior, and was spending all of his spare time and betting at one of the local bars. He had stopped for some beer on his way home, and drove through the quaint neighborhood he lived in towards his home. Several people had seen him as he neared his home. He pulled his car into the already open garage door, but this was where things began to get hazy. People didn't understand why he closed the garage door, but left the car running. Why had he gotten back into the car after closing the garage door? It was ruled an accident, alcohol playing key in it. Suicide wasn't an option. All of his friends down at the bar swore that he wasn't one of those people.

The officers came back two or three times, and had more questions every time. But with the wailing from his mother, and Adam's dead stare, they finally left them alone.

The funeral was small. Not many people showed up, and those who did had nice things to say. Adam's mother cried some more, and Adam himself played his part well. He stared down at the grave and even worked up a tear once through the service.

The next day however, he came back to the grave alone and spit on the grave.

Adam cleared his thoughts and stared down at the photo of Gabriella in his hands. He couldn't be upset with her for getting mixed up. For being confused. Of course he would forgive her.

* * *

Gabriella looked down at the stone in front of her and placed the flowers in her hands on the grave. She hadn't been to see him in a while, and part of her needed to.

Jake whined behind her. He had been extremely anxious since they had arrived at the cemetery. Every so often he would run in a circle around the grave, as if he were checking for something and then make his way back to the grave.

Gabriella kneeled next to the grave and placed her hand on the stone.

She heard a growl from Jake's voice and looked up to where he was hunched next to a line of trees. He sniffed the air a few more times before he continued to make his rounds.

She looked back at the large stone. She never really said anything when she came and visited. And there was something very different about this visit. Like she was finally ready to accept the closure that had been given. She was finally ready to move on. Completely and with everything in her.

A small breeze blew around her and with it, she sat up straight. Someone was here in the cemetery with her. She stood up and looked around and saw no one, but by this time the hairs on her arms were standing straight on end.

She gave one last look to the grave and said her goodbye, and quickly left the cemetery.

* * *

_so i know it's short, but i didn't want to continue on with the vibe that's already been made with this chapter. hard to be picked up from that. :/_


	12. Only Heart

**The Guardian**

_Do not waste this evening  
Baby, I'm begging you  
Your big imagination's playing its tricks on you  
If you think my up and leaving's something I'm gonna do  
Feel my chest when I look at you  
Baby, you,  
You got my only heart_  
**('Only Heart' / John Mayer)**

Gabriella looked away from the screen, the movie she and Troy were watching suddenly losing her interest.

"Hey Troy?" she asked looking up at him from her secure spot under his arm. His eyes shifted down and met hers, and she could see the question in them.

"Yeah?"

Gabriella paused a moment before she spoke again. She knew she was being naïve, but every girl had their insecure moments right? Especially when they were dating an extremely gorgeous, future NBA star. She figured that alone gave her enough right to have her insecure moments.

"Why me?" she asked innocently, lowering her head so that her hair fell down and covered her already embarrassed eyes.

Troy took his free hand and moved the hair out of her eyes and raised her chin so that she was looking at him again. He didn't say anything, but continued to look down into her eyes.

They stayed that way for several minutes, staring into each other's eyes, before Gabriella couldn't take it any longer.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" By this point she was getting angry. She had bared her insecurities to him and he was just going to stare at her?

"You're serious?" Troy asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I'm serious." Gabriella huffed, and began to move herself out from under his grasp. Troy, however, secured his arm around her making it impossible for her to move.

"What are you talking about Brie?"

Gabriella fought hard against the sweetness in his voice, and tried to stay angry. "Look at you Troy! I mean seriously, you're probably the most attractive man I've ever met and to top it off you're amazing. You're kind, and funny, and sweet. My God! In a little over four months you're going to be gone. You're going to go and be this household name, and you could probably have any girl you want. So why are you here _with me_?"

She had tried to keep it together, but her voice cracked on the last two words and a tear fell freely down her cheek. Troy's heart broke at the sight in front of him, and quickly caressed her cheek and wiped away the tear with the pad of his thumb.

"You want to know why?"

Gabriella nodded her head slightly from its place in the palm of his hand.

"You've got to know it's always been you Gabriella. _Always_." He said so simply and sincerely that Gabriella questioned herself why she ever had doubts in the first place.

She could tell he was searching for more words to say, and before he could she leaned up and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

Troy's hands slid down her neck and back and secured themselves on her lower back, and pulled her closer to him. Again, their lips met, each kiss gaining fervor and passion.

Gabriella leaned up a few moments later, taking the chance to allow some air into her lungs.

"Thank you Troy." She said, her chest still heaving.

"For what?"

"For dealing with my girl moment." She said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

Troy pulled them into a sitting position, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you Brie. Don't ever forget that. I don't care what's coming at us in the future, you will always be the only person who can make my heart stop. The only one I can see my life with."

Gabriella's stomach filled with butterflies at the miniature speech, and smiled at the man in front of her. She still couldn't figure out why it took her so long to realize this was where she was meant to be.

"Besides, I'm sure it's hard to remember when you're around someone as amazing as me." Troy said sarcastically.

Gabriella laughed and playfully hit Troy on the arm.

And with that, the moment was gone, and they nestled back in to the couch – happy with the simplicity of the situation and the comfort of the other and finished their movie.

* * *

"So Troy is making you dinner?" Sharpay's astonished voice echoed through the receiver.

Gabriella pushed the cart through the aisle in search of the next thing on the list Troy had given her.

"That's what he said, Shar. Think I should be afraid?"

"I'd run for your life if I were you." Sharpay responded with a laugh. "In all the years I've known him I've never known Troy to cook. Hell, he almost burn down East High in Home Ec."

Gabriella laughed at that, and reached over to grab chile powder off of the shelf and placed it in her car.

"Oh, shoot Gabs. Aiden's running around in my Jimmy Choo's . I've gotta go. Love you!"

The received clicked over leaving Gabriella to chuckle at the scene in her mind. She looked down at her list, and continued to push her cart down and around a corner, bumping into someone as she did so.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, putting the list down and looking up at who she ran into.

"Oh, don't worry about it." The man said as he turned around, and a pit formed in Gabriella as she recognized the man in front of her. "Gabriella! What a surprise!"

"Hey Adam." She said trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"How are you?" Adam asked, his expression turning genuinely friendly.

"I'm well, thanks. How about you?" The answer to her was obvious – even on the outside Adam looked a little ragged.

He gave her a small smile. "I'm doing better. It's been hard you know?"

Gabriella nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile. "How's your arm?"

Adam's smile faltered at the mention of that night. "Much better. Still bruised of course, but no serious harm done."

"That's good, I'm glad to hear." Gabriella said, trying her hardest to keep the conversation light and simple. The less she had to talk, the better.

"Look, I want to thank you for that night Gabriella." Adam said. "I'm sorry for getting so angry, and for imposing on you like that."

"It's okay." Gabriella said looking away and over at the bananas down the aisle.

"Seriously, thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me." Adam continued on.

"I didn't do much."

"Yes, you did. You helped me so much." He paused a moment. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but you look great."

Gabriella's eyes flashed back to him. She was surprised that his voice sounded friendly, like she was receiving a compliment from Sharpay or Taylor rather than the awkwardness coming from someone she used to date.

"Thank you."

Adam smiled. "I feel like I owe you for what you did. Not everyone would have been as generous as you were that night."

"You don't owe me anything, Adam. You were in a bad place, and I listened."

"Yeah," He persisted, "but I feel like I need to show you my appreciation. Maybe we could go out to dinner. Grab a burger perhaps?"

Grab a burger? When had grabbing a burger ever been Adam's style?

"Just dinner Gabs, as friends. Nothing else."

Gabriella gave him a tight smile and shook her head. "I don't think I can do that Adam. Sorry."

"Okay, well I had to try. No hard feelings okay?"

Gabriella nodded her head.

"I gotta go then. Meeting someone for dinner, I'll see you around?"

Again, Gabriella's head bobbed in response.

"Bye."

"Goodbye Adam."

* * *

After finding the odd collection of ingredients, Gabriella made her way back to Troy's apartment where he was already elbows deep in preparation.

"I'm not going to lie." She teased. "I'm a little scared."

He flashed her a toothy grin, and handed her the bananas, cream cheese, whipped cream, and a few other items.

She placed her hand on her hip and looked as him as if he were crazy.

"You, my love," He said leaning down and kissing her briefly on the lips. "Are making dessert, and I'm going to tell you how."

* * *

An hour later, Gabriella was sitting at Troy's small dining table looking down at a strange looking concoction. The only thing she could tell was that it was some sort of soup.

"Well?" Troy looked at her with puppy eyes. "Are you going to at least try it for me?"

Gabriella looked at him, and back down at the colorful mixture in front of her. She picked up her spoon, and filled it with the liquid.

She raised the spoon to her mouth and closed her eyes as she placed it in her mouth. What happened next surprised her

"Troy! This is amazing!"

Troy smiled. "See, I told you. It's Troy Bolton's famous Chicken Tortilla Soup!"

Gabriella couldn't help but smile at the man in front of her. Sitting across from her, Troy looked more excited than a little kid on Christmas.

"I will never doubt you again." She said laughing.

* * *

Gabriella wiped down the tables the next afternoon in a bit of a haze. The last few days had been nothing short of amazing, and she couldn't have ever imagined feeling this happy.

The phone rang across the café, and thankfully she heard Ally answer the phone.

"_Well hello there sugar!"_

Gabriella groaned. It wasn't unusual for Ally's dates to show up or call in to the café.

"_Oh, I had a wonderful time too last night. I don't think I've ever been to such a nice place before."_Gabriella scoffed in surprise. That definitely was different for Ally.

"_Thanks, Adam. I'll see you later okay? Give me a call, sweetie, and we'll do it all again. Uh, huh. Bye bye."_

Gabriella looked up at Ally. Adam?

She looked around the café, and after seeing it was clear called out to the girl. "Who was that Ally?"

The red head looked up and gave Gabriella a pitiful look. "As if you weren't listening in. You know very well who that was."

Gabriella straightened up. "Ally, who was on the phone?"

The red head picked up a few strands of her and observed them as if she were searching for split ends. "It was Adam. That's right, the same Adam you were dating not too long ago. Seems like he finally found a real girl to take him out."

"Ally, I think you should be careful with him." Gabriella tried to warn. She knew Ally's relationship tactics, and wanted the best for both her and Adam.

It was Ally's turn to scoff. "Ha! You're just freaking out because you thought you still had him wrapped around your finger. Pretty crappy thing you did to him, too, Gabriella. Cheating on him with Troy? He did everything for you, took you to nice places. Playing with his feelings while Troy was away. Playing two guys, are we now? What a low thing to do."

Ally left her hair alone, and strutted back to the kitchen leaving an astonished Gabriella behind her.

What exactly had Adam told her?

* * *

_okay. so i'm afraid the last chapter was really really bad. i didn't get any reviews for it, and i don't know if i should just delete it or rewrite it, or what._

_so let me know what you think of this one, and if you still think this story's worth writing._

_thanks!_


	13. Look After You

**The Guardian**

"_If I don't say this now, I will surely break  
As I'm leaving the one I want to take  
Forgive the urgency, but hurry up and wait  
My heart has started to separate_

_Oh, oh, be my baby  
I'll look after you._

**('Look After You' / The Fray)**

Gabriella was annoyed. She was coming towards the end of her third ten hour shift that week, and she was flat out exhausted. She glanced at the clock and saw it was seven thirty. Only an hour left, and she could close down shop. She knew Troy was waiting for her at home and it was the only thing on her mind. It had been a busy day at the café, and it had been only her and Ally covering the front for most of it, which meant Gabriella was doing most of the work. She wanted nothing else than to go home and relax in Troy's arms while they watched reruns on TV.

The thought brought a smile to her face.

She prepped the coffee urns to be cleaned, working harder than usual to get out. She knew if she wanted to get out by nine she needed to make up for Ally's lack of effort.

That plan was lost when she heard Ally shriek, and looked up to see what caused the action. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed Adam walking through the front door.

"Adam, baby!" Ally said dramatically. "You came to see me!"

Gabriella watched as Adam leaned down to kiss Ally, his eyes shifting to meet with Gabriella's as he did so. He pulled away and looked down at Ally. "Of course I did."

Ally beamed with excitement and led Adam over to the counter and grabbed him a cup of coffee. "Listen, sweetie. I have a few tables to take care of, but I'll be right back. Just ask Gabriella if you need anything okay?"

Ally gave him another quick kiss before heading off to the other end of the café, making Gabriella want to laugh. '_Wow,' _she thought. '_What a great time to start and show some effort all right.'_

Gabriella turned her back to Adam and turned her focus back to the coffee urns, hoping it would avoid any conversation.

"So, Gabriella," Adam said behind her. _Well, there went that plan. _"How've you been?"

_'Okay,'_ Gabriella thought to herself. _'There are two ways to handle this. Ignore him, or let him know how happy you really are without him.'_She made her decision and thought of Troy, a smile immediately coming to her face. She turned around and looked directly at Adam. "Really, really great."

Adam gave her a sickly sweet smile. "I'm glad to hear that. When does Troy Boy leave for LA again?"

The smile fell from Gabriella's face. "A little over four months."

"I see. Such a shame he'll be leaving you here all by yourself isn't it?" His voice was genuinely sweet, but the look on his face, or more so in his eyes, were borderline creepy.

Gabriella stared at him, thinking of how to respond, but the uneasiness in her stomach was making that impossible.

"Sweetie." Ally said as she walked back over to where they were standing and placing herself in Adam's lap. "Are you staying at my place tonight?"

Adam wrapped his arms around Ally's waist, his eyes flickering over to Gabriella's again. "I believe so. Unless you've changed your mind."

"Of course I haven't." She said and turned to look at Gabriella. "Isn't he the greatest?"

Gabriella could hardly help herself from laughing. "Ally, why don't you make it an early night?" She said kindly. "I think I've got it under control here."

Ally's eyes lit up. "You sure? Gabriella that would be great!"

Gabriella smiled genuinely. "Yeah, go for it. Have a great night you two."

With that, she turned on her heel and went to the back room. Maybe she would get out by nine after all.

* * *

Gabriella counted down the last till and closed it in the safe and glanced over at the clock. _9:08._ '_Not bad_,' she thought to herself. _'Not bad at all.'_

She turned the lights off in the office, and walked around the kitchen to make sure that everything had been cleaned up. Zeke was a little over protective of his kitchen. Feeling satisfied, she turned off the lights to the kitchen and walked out into the café. She glanced around the room, her eyes catching on something dark sitting on the counter. Someone had left their wallet. She thought back to who had been sitting in that seat and she grimaced.

_'Please no.' _

She walked over to where the wallet was sitting, picked it up and flipped it open, looking directly at the ID. Adam Bell.

"Damn it." She put the wallet back on the table. He would have to come get it tomorrow, when Zeke was working.

She turned the lights off in the café, and walked out the front door, locking it behind her as she did so. Walking the hundred feet or so to her car, she quickly got in and started it up and drove home.

* * *

Later that evening, Gabriella sat in her bed reading as she waited for Troy to get out of the shower. She jumped when the phone rang, it's sound shrill in the silence.

"Hello?" She answered, her voice slightly out of breath from the surprise.

"Gabriella, it's Adam."

Gabriella inwardly groaned, but didn't say anything.

"I was just calling because I think I left my wallet at the café today."

Gabriella was skeptical. "Yeah, you did."

On the other end of the phone, Adam let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God. I had no idea where it was."

"Yep, it's there. So now you know." Gabriella said trying to keep the conversation short. "Have a good night."

"Wait Gabriella. Do you think you can meet me there tonight? I need it before I go to work tomorrow."

His words made Gabriella furious. "No, Adam. I can't. You can get it tomorrow before you go into work. I will let Zeke know you'll be stopping by."

"Gabriella you live a half a mile away from the place. You can't just meet me there? Please, I really need it. It has everything in there."

"No, Adam. It's late and I'm already in bed. You can get it tomorrow."

Adam paused a moment. "I'm stuck in meetings all morning. By the time Zeke even gets to work I'll be knee deep in contracts and blueprints."

"I'm sorry Adam. I don't know what to tell you."

He paused again, and Gabriella felt that maybe he was giving up. "I miss you Gabriella, I miss us talking. We had such great conversations."

Gabriella felt like hitting something. "Goodnight Adam."

She was about to hang up when he cut in. "Do you think you could at least get it for me, and I could stop by your place after I get out of work tomorrow? That would make things so much easier for me."

"Adam, no." Gabriella's voice was quivering with anger. "This has gone far enough. I have been bending over backwards trying to be nice. It's OVER, and I'm with Troy now. And I'm happy. Please leave me alone."

"Wait, Gabriella-"

Gabriella ended the conversation and put the phone back in its cradle next to her bed. She tried to pick up her book and read, but her hands were still shaking from the phone call, and she found it hard to concentrate.

"Hey you okay?" She heard Troy's voice ask, and looked up to see him standing in a pair of boxers, rubbing a towel against his wet hair. "It sounded like you yelling out here."

"Adam called. He left his wallet at the café tonight when he came in to see Ally, and he actually wanted me to meet him tonight so he could get it."

Troy crawled in bed with her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Gabriella sighed, taking in a deep breath in of his shampoo and body wash and immediately felt calmed.

"And what did you say?"

"Hell no!" She said angrily causing Troy to laugh. "What?"

"You're kind of cute when you get all fired up like that." He said, a light chuckle coming out after.

"Oh really?" She asked and turned so that she was lying on her stomach and looking up at him.

"Really." Troy responded, his voice suddenly serious and thick. They continued to stare into each other's eyes for the next several minutes, Troy's hand rubbing circles on Gabriella's lower back every so often.

"I love you Troy." Gabriella said, finally breaking the silence.

"I know that." He said softly.

"I'm being serious Troy. I love you, like really love you. You could at least say it back." She responded, her voice a little hurt.

Troy sat up slightly. "How many times do you want me to say it?"

She stared at him, and shyly shrugged her shoulders.

Troy smiled and sat up, taking Gabriella up with him so she was straddling his lap, her face mere inches from his. She could feel his breath on her lips, and felt a sudden rush of longing she had never really felt before.

"Brie, if I could have it my way, I'd say it every day for the rest of my life."

Gabriella's heart constricted at his words, and she quickly closed the gap between their lips. Troy wrapped his arms around her waist, her arms snaking their way through his damp hair, each of them deepening the kiss.

The sound of the phone interrupted them, and they pulled away, panting heavily. Troy reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello?" He answered, his voice still out of breath.

But there was no one there.

"Hello?" He asked again before hanging the phone back up. He looked over at Gabriella and shrugged his shoulders. "Must have been a wrong number or something."

"Yeah." Gabriella answered, but her thoughts went straight to the countless voicemails she had received. Why did it feel like they were somehow related to the phone call they had just received?

Troy had already lain back down, and she snuggled into his side. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling and for the first time in a long time, she felt scared.

* * *

**_okay, whatcha think???_**


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